Rolando Rolly Romero Defends WBA Title Against Teofimo Lopez

T-Mobile Arena Title Clash Sets Up Welterweight Stakes

For Romero, the walk to the ring represents his first defense of the WBA belt for the first time since being elevated to full champion by the sanctioning body last August, having positioned himself for the title by scoring an upset victory over Ryan Garcia in May 2025, which earned him the WBA’s “Regular” title. Lopez steps into the welterweight division for the first time, moving up from junior welterweight where he reigned as lineal and WBO champion for over two years. His run atop the division came to an end in January, as he suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Shakur Stevenson, soon after announcing his plans to campaign in a new weight class.

I'm ready for this fight. It's put up or shut up at this point, Lopez said. Lopez is looking to become a three-division champion after moving up.

Financial Brotherhood Gives Way to Title Ambitions

Despite the competitive fire surrounding their championship meeting, both fighters share a history defined by mutual respect outside the ring. Teofimo Lopez and Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero might be enemies on Aug. 22, but that will not stop them from being lifelong brothers outside of the ring. During a joint sit-down interview, Romero thanked Lopez directly for giving him $5,000 unprompted when he was admittedly at rock bottom.

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I gotta say thank you to you, you helped me out a lot, Romero said, via DAZN Boxing. Well, I remember after he beat [Masayoshi] Nakatani, I was in a bad place financially. I remember Teo gave me $5k out of nowhere. He just calls me randomly… That money did so much for me.

Teófimo López, campeón mundial de peso ligero y peso superligero, hará su estreno en el peso wélter este sábado 22 de agosto en Las Vegas contra Rolly Romero en búsqueda de su tercer título mundial: el cinturón de la AMB de las 147 libras. Tras empezar el 2026 con una despedida con derrota en la división superligero, al caer contra Shakur Stevenson, López empieza un nuevo camino a sus 28 años intentando coronarse como tricampeón mundial. Estoy muy agradecido por todo lo que pasó con Shakur. Me confirmó algo que ya sabía: debí haber confiado en mis instintos. Debí haber subido a la categoría de peso welter hace un año, pero aquí estamos, y no hemos perdido el ritmo, declaró López.

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Undercard Results Highlighted by Russell Victory

The evening’s action at T-Mobile Arena delivered decisive outcomes across the card. Victor Santillan by unanimous decision. The Russell brothers continue to make boxing a thriving family business. Gary Antonio Russell won the interim WBA super bantamweight title with a lopsided decision over Victor Santillan in their 12-round bout. The judges scored it 118-109, 119-108, 119-108 in favor of the 23-year-old Russell, who improved to 21-1. It’s the latest accolade for the Russell brothers. Gary Antuanne Russell, 30, is the reigning WBA super lightweight champion. Gary Russell Jr., 38, held the WBC featherweight title from 2015 to 2022. Santillan looked like he was in Las Vegas just to go 12 rounds. He accomplished that, but not much else. Russell outclassed him for 12 rounds, dropping him in the final frame before coasting to a lopsided unanimous decision victory. Round 1: Victor Santillan and Gary Antonio Russell attack each other’s bodies. The southpaws are serious about starting fast. Russell digging in with two hard rights. Russell 10, Santillan 9. Round 2: Santillan complains about getting hit in the back of the head.

If summer league is any indication, the Celtics absolutely nailed the draft