Teofimo Lopez says taking a tuneup after his one-sided loss to Shakur Stevenson isn’t an option. Considering the risk involved in fighting even a fringe 147-pound contender, there may be good reason for him to go directly after Rolando “Rolly” Romero’s WBA title instead.
Lopez (22-2) moves up to 147 pounds to challenge Romero (17-2) on August 22 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It will be Teofimo’s first fight since Shakur beat him 119-109 on all three scorecards.
“I mean, why not? We broke the records of Ali and Frazier one in Madison Square Garden when I fought earlier this year against Shakur Stevenson,” Teofimo said to Clipfury. “We broke the records by a thousand seats more. So, I can’t go back to taking a tuneup. No, we go right into another big fight. That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to make big fights happen.”
Teofimo doesn’t explain why a tuneup is out of the question. Money may be part of the calculation, particularly after signing a deal with DAZN through Takeover Promotions. But there is another issue: how safe would a supposedly easier fight at welterweight actually be?
Teofimo hasn’t consistently looked like the fighter who upset Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020. George Kambosos Jr. beat him at lightweight. At 140, Sandor Martin gave him a difficult fight, while Jamaine Ortiz used movement to frustrate him over 12 rounds.
There was an excellent performance against Josh Taylor between those fights, but Teofimo’s form has varied enough that putting him against a respectable lower-ranked welterweight wouldn’t guarantee an easy night. That helps explain the appeal of fighting Rolly.
Rolly offers considerably greater rewards than a rebuilding opponent. Teofimo gets another major fight, a higher payday and the opportunity to become a three-division champion immediately after losing his WBO light welterweight title.
The downside is different, too. If Teofimo loses to a fringe welterweight in a tuneup, the damage could be enormous. He would have been beaten in the fight specifically chosen to ease him into the division, without a world title or major payday to compensate for the risk.
Losing to Rolly would hurt, but Teofimo would at least have a ready-made explanation. He moved directly to 147 and challenged a world champion without first taking a fight to adjust to the division.
None of this makes Romero a safe choice. Rolly possesses real punching power and comes into the fight after beating Ryan Garcia. Teofimo’s performances since Lomachenko give little reason to assume he’ll handle Romero easily.
But that’s precisely why skipping the tuneup may make sense. If Teofimo is going to take substantial risk at welterweight anyway, he might as well take one that comes with a world title and considerably more money.
