What To Know
- WBA World Welterweight champion Rolly Romero returns to the ring after a year of inactivity to face former two-division champion Teofimo Lopez
- Rolly vs Teofimo was made official along with three championship undercard fights on Thursday in Hollywood
- The fight takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, August 22. It will air live on DAZN and Prime Video PPV.
Other than Las Vegas, there is no more fitting location for the rollout of the Romero vs Lopez fight than Hollywood, California.
And would it be a proper appearance by Rolly Romero and Teofimo Lopez on the same stage without some props, including a rubber duck, a pair of feet, a gorilla mask, and let’s not forget the WBA belt on display.
Romero of Las Vegas (17-2, 13 KOs) will appear in the ring for the first title defense of the belt he won in May 2025 after defeating Ryan Garcia and eventually being elevated to the title, taking on Lopez of Brooklyn (22-2, 13 KOs), who accepts the challenge in his first fight in the welterweight division. If Lopez wins, he will become a three-division world champion and climb back up boxing’s rankings.
Romero and Lopez are undeniably two of the most polarizing athletes in boxing, who are also at times wildly entertaining and infuriating. They’re rarely boring. Both Romero and Lopez along with trainer and father Teofimo Lopez Sr. love the stage like a bee loves honey. It’s fuel.
Promoter Tom Brown of TGB Promotions called the matchup “a fight promoter’s dream” with two big personalities and two throwback styles willing to trade in an all-action fight. Brown called it a great way to start the new partnership between Premier Boxing Champions and DAZN. “And it’s called Put Up or Shut Up, you know. I’m going to shut up now.”
The Road to Rolly vs Teofimo
Lopez Jr.’s manager Keith Connolly explained that Lopez Jr. took the fight because it offers him the potential to win a title in a third weight division, “historic type stuff.” He also credited the DAZN/PBC deal for adding motivation for the client he called “a future Hall of Famer.”
Romero interjected with a sly giggle, “He’s a Hall of Famer for sure already.”
Connolly said it is the right style matchup for Lopez Jr., and a win tees up ‘huge mega fights.’
“I think he’s going to be the bigger guy in the ring. Actually, he’s going to be the better guy, faster guy. And I’m guaranteeing victory for Teofimo August 22,” added Connolly, who said Lopez Jr. was offered an easier fight to ease into the welterweight division, but he preferred not to waste time.
Teofimo Lopez Sr., an often polarizing figure in his son’s life both personally and professionally, told a tale about how he saw the fight coming to be. He said it all started on January 31, the night his son lost to Shakur Stevenson.
“I was very upset, and I just came out of the ring, and I was walking out, and guess who was chasing me? It was Rolly running after me, and he told me, ‘Man, you need to move your son up to 147.’
“So it’s crazy that now we’re sitting over here getting ready for this fight, and I can’t wait, man. August 22 is going to be a great night, especially with these two fighters. You know they’re going to come to fight and give a show.”
Who’s Got the Upper Hand? The Trainers Speak
Lopez Sr. took tremendous heat for his performance in the corner when his son faced Shakur Stevenson in January, seeming to lack a game plan and struggling to give his son direction. Lopez Sr. seemed to infer his son’s head wasn’t in the fight that night.
“Any style is better for my son when he’s mentally in the fight. When my son is mentally there, when my son is in his A-game, nobody can beat him. I think that that night was not his night with Shakur. That’s the past. We gotta move on. I would love to have a fight with him in the future.”
Meanwhile, Romero imitated Lopez Sr.’s growling voice, with the only understandable word being “Lomachenko.”
Romero’s trainer Ismael Salas called the matchup a perfect fit.
“I think this is, with all my respect to Teo, is a perfect fight for Rolly. Everybody will see August 26. I’m really very happy to have this fight. Rolly will show how much he’s improved, how much he’s matured. And he’s a real welterweight fighting someone coming from 140.”
Teofimo Lopez Jr.: We Know Each Other’s Triggers
Lopez Jr. said he understands the stakes. Speaking about himself in third person, he said, “Truthfully, you know, ‘Was Teofimo just good in the early of his career, and this is the end of his career, or is this now the start of something new?’ So I look forward to it,” thanking Romero and his team for accepting the matchup.
Lopez Jr. also acknowledged that he and Romero bring two big personalities into the promotion and into the ring, spiced up by their familiarity with each other.
“We know one another enough to know what triggers us. We know possibly secrets that people don’t know, and I think that also is the friendship stuff that we hear and we see today in boxing that needs to be, it needs to be taken away.”
The two men have sparred together on several occasions. Lopez Sr. couldn’t resist firing a shot. “We usually have to take it easy, remember, because the first one was really ugly, and then Rolly just wanted to work. You know that’s true.”
And then the gloves came off as Senior got wound up. “Hey, let me explain this. (Rolly) was never our friend. Nobody knew who the fuck you was, and you came and started clout chasing on my son. Then when you came in for Tank, you never even talked to us again.
“That’s why I hit you in the chest the last time I seen you. Remember when I hit you in the chest, and I say “You real, friend?” But you remember that day, Junior? You just kept on walking, man. You’re fake, Junior, fake. And you know that night you’re not even gonna touch my son, so that’s what I gotta say. Let’s go, baby.”
With this, Lopez Jr. brought out his bag of props. The gorilla mask, the rubber duck, and the two left feet emerged. Romero grabbed the duck and said, “Hey, why you bringing Devin on stage?” referring, of course, to Devin Haney. “I don’t need that one around,” snickered Romero. Of the feet, Romero said, “You could at least have brought some French tips, man.”
Rolly Romero: “I Love All This Stuff”
Romero was in a congenial and chill mood. Asked about being out of the ring since May 2025, Romero said, “You know, it’s been a hard time. We had a hard time trying to make a fight with anyone. I needed time off to focus on me, but I’m just happy, you know, we got another pay-per-view event.
“I always feel good, but I feel really good right now. I just miss this, man. You know, I miss boxing. I love boxing. I love all this stuff, you know. I don’t do this for anything other than the love of the sport.”
Asked if he ever imagined after sparring that the two would find themselves in the ring together officially, Romero said, “I mean, a fight’s a fight, the sparring session, the sparring session, saw the same thing, bro. These guys all fight their friends in sparring all the time, anyways. You know, you get cracked, you crack people, all this stuff. You know, it’s just a fight now.
“Now we’re doing it under big lights over something, an actual belt. He has the opportunity to make history, become a three-division world champion. He’s already a Hall of Famer, and then I have the opportunity to become a Hall of Famer.”
The game plan? “Punch Teofimo in the face and not get punched in the face, bro. That’s common sense, right?”
Let the Rolly vs Teofimo Guessing Games Begin
Lopez Jr. said he believes he’s got a lot more to offer, that he hasn’t even scratched the surface, noting he is still just 28 years old. (He will be 29 years old by the time of the fight in August).
“The time is up, man. We got to fight each other, we got to settle it in the ring. That’s why it’s a gentleman sport. That’s why it’s a real man’s sport. If you got problems, settle it in the boxing ring. You know what they say: gloves up, guns down.”
Romero called Lopez Jr. “my little brother. At the end of it, if I’m to lose this belt or to defend my belt, whatever, I’d rather it be with him than anyone else. Only God knows what’s going to happen.”
Both fighters have had their highs and lows in the ring, and both are unique and intriguing personalities.
Romero’s career has been a roller coaster of wins (Ryan Garcia, Ismael Barroso) and losses (Isaac Cruz, Tank Davis).
Lopez’s achievements as a two-division champion, including victories over Vasiliy Lomachenko and Josh Taylor, are elite performances. But he has also lost focus and barely scraped out wins by decision over Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz, along with a shocking loss to George Kambosos Jr.
Which version of Romero and which version of Teofimo will we see in the ring on August 22? Let the guessing games begin.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.
