Rolly Romero vs. Teofimo Lopez already had enough weird juice without anyone trying to dress it up. Now Lopez is saying the whole thing went from business to personal after Romero gave him energy he did not like.
Lopez is scheduled to challenge Romero for the WBA welterweight title on Aug. 22 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with the fight airing as a PBC pay-per-view on DAZN and Prime Video. That is a big swing for Lopez after his Shakur Stevenson setback, and he is talking like a man who found a reason to skip vacation and walk straight back into the fire.
Watch the Fight Hub TV interview below.
In the interview, Lopez explained that the Romero fight reached him about six weeks after the Stevenson bout. He said talks with Zuffa were also happening before Romero’s demeanor at the David Benavidez-Gilberto Ramirez event convinced him to demand this matchup.
The fight was presented to me probably like six weeks after my fight with Shakur. You know, and then there was talks with Zuffa. And then I seen Rolly at the fights in Benavidez with Zurdo for, I think it was unified, right? Unification? And I saw him there, and I said like a joke to Rolly, thinking, you know, ’cause after he came to my locker room, and I just, I seen something in him I didn’t like. I was like, ‘Oh, you cocky son of a gun, bro.’ I was like—so right away I called my legal team. I said, ‘Make the fight happen. I want to fight him.’
Lopez Says Old Ties Will Not Save Rolly
This is where the matchup gets spicy. Lopez and Romero are not strangers doing the usual fake beef routine for a camera. Lopez has talked before about helping Romero financially, and Romero has carried himself like a guy who knows that shared history gives the promotion a little extra bite.
Lopez said Romero’s reaction changed what otherwise would have been a year devoted to his family and an expected new baby.
Yeah, I would have honestly taken the whole rest of the year off. Yeah, I would have just thought about things and, you know, I got a baby on the way, and just focus on family. Yeah, so that was the real, real life-choice decision and career-defining moment for me.
Instead, the friendship angle seems to have become fuel. That matters because Romero is not some tune-up being dragged into a name fight. He is the champion, he is coming off the kind of win over Ryan Garcia that changed his leverage, and he can absolutely make a fight ugly if Lopez gives him openings.
Asked whether the personal history would make him hesitate if Romero was hurt, Lopez said the same restraint would not be shown to him.
I’d say if I was in the same situation like that, I think he would try to finish it. It’s the same thing. It’s just boxing. It’s just what we channeled into, you know? If it’s not me, it’s him. If it’s not him, it’s me.
Lopez then pointed to the gloves and Romero’s expected intent once the bell rings.
Yeah, bro, eight-ounce, and he’s going to try to swing for the fences.
He also said their previous sparring sessions will not dictate how aggressively he fights this time.
I’ve been too nice, even in our sparrings. So it’s time to really, like, turn it up on him.
That is good fight-week poison because Lopez needs more than a belt here. He needs to show the Shakur Stevenson loss did not freeze his offense, and Romero would love nothing more than to make him pay for entering 147 with revenge on the brain.
There is a goofy edge to this whole thing, because boxing loves turning old gym stories into pay-per-view gasoline. Still, the stakes are real. Romero gets his first major chance to defend the WBA welterweight crown against a former two-division champion, while Lopez gets a fast route back into the title picture if he can make the jump without eating something stupid on the way in.
