LAS VEGAS — Rolando “Rolly” Romero and Teofimo Lopez know each other. Their families know each other. There’s genuine friendship between them. On August 22, Romero says none of that matters. Romero will make the first defense of his WBA welterweight championship against Lopez at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, headlining a Premier Boxing Champions pay-per-view event on DAZN and Prime Video.
And if Rolly’s prediction is accurate, friendship won’t prevent the two from producing one of the wildest fights of the year. “This is going to be an action-packed, fight of the year kind of fight,” Romero said during training camp.
Rolly Promises No Running
Romero (17-2, 13 KOs) has never lacked confidence or an ability to sell a fight. He believes pairing his aggressive personality with Lopez’s explosive style creates exactly the type of matchup boxing fans want.
“Teo and I are always in entertaining fights,” Romero said. “We’re the most entertaining fighters in the world and definitely the best self-promoters in the world.”
Then came a shot at fighters whose styles aren’t quite as aggressive. “Nobody can ever say we’re runners or we’re in boring fights, like some of these other fighters y’all love to praise,” Romero said. “We don’t run, we like to punch.”
Whatever else can be said about Romero, subtlety has never been part of the package.
Friendship Gets Put Aside
There’s an interesting dynamic surrounding the matchup because Romero and Lopez aren’t bitter rivals. They’re friends. Romero says that’s precisely why boxing needs fights like this.
“Yeah, we’re friends, and we know each other’s families, but none of that matters on August 22,” Romero said.
For him, becoming great requires being willing to fight other elite competitors regardless of personal relationships.
“That’s what’s wrong with boxing nowadays,” Romero said. “Everybody wants to be friends, but they’re scared to fight each other and instead forget why we all got into this sport to begin with. That’s to become a legend and one of the best of our generation.”
Plenty at Stake in Las Vegas
The storyline almost writes itself. Romero wants to establish himself as a legitimate champion at welterweight and continue building toward the Hall of Fame career he believes is possible.
Lopez wants to erase the memory of his loss to Stevenson and become champion in a third weight class. The two friends are willing to punch each other in the face to accomplish those goals.
That’s boxing. Once the opening bell rings at T-Mobile Arena, friendship gets put on hold. As Romero put it, he and Lopez don’t run. They punch. On August 22, we’ll find out which friend punches better.
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Robert LaMar is a Deputy Editor for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
