Rolando Romero and Teofimo Lopez wouldn’t break eye contact on Friday afternoon, their friendship frosty after several years, reduced to an icy, empty glare. Put by Lopez on a conference room stage after the staredown capped their ceremonial weigh-in at Park MGM: “We pictured this moment years ago, and it’s time for us to fight.”
From friends to foes.
Romero and Lopez are suspending their friendship to box for the WBA welterweight title Saturday at T-Mobile Arena via Premier Boxing Champions. Romero, 30 and a native Las Vegan who held the WBA junior welterweight title, is making the first defense of his crown he claimed last year against Ryan Garcia. Lopez, 29, a native New Yorker and two-weight world champion is making his 147-pound debut.
“It’s time to fight,” Romero deadpanned to DAZN’s Chris Mannix on stage.
Romero (17-2, 13 knockouts) and Lopez (22-2, 13 KOs) formed their friendship training in Las Vegas a decade ago, sparring to sharpen each other’s skills as they managed their early professional pathways. As their bond evolved, so did their careers with Lopez unifying lightweight titles — with wins in 2019 over Richard Comney and in 2020 at MGM Grand former pound-for-pound great Vasiliy Lomachenko — and winning the WBO junior welterweight title in 2022 from former undisputed champion Josh Taylor.
After three defenses against lukewarm opposition, Lopez lost his title in New York in January to pound-for-pound great Shakur Stevenson — forcing his move to welterweight.
Romero parlayed a 2022 loss to Gervonta Davis into a fight for the vacant WBA 140-pound title, won controversially in 2023 over Ismael Barroso at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. He lost the belt the following year to Isaac Cruz at T-Mobile Arena, rebounding with a tune-up win before upsetting Garcia last year in New York.
As for the stylistic matchup, Lopez, trained by his father and namesake, is best as a light-footed counterpuncher mixing speed, creativity and fast-twitch reflexes. Romero is naturally heavy-handed while throwing shots from unconventional angles, refining his aggression the last couple years under Ismael Salas at his Las Vegas gym.
“We’ve shared a lot of rounds in the ring and now we’re here 10 years later,” Lopez noted on Thursday afternoon during the promotion’s final news conference at Park MGM, later suggesting he eased up in sparring. “He’s the best fighter at 147 and the hardest puncher. I’m the type of guy who goes after those challenges.”
Romero said he sought to fight the best competition at welterweight — in which Garcia is the WBC champion, defending his title next month at T-Mobile Arena against Conor Benn, Devin Haney is the WBO champion and Liam Paro is the IBF champion — and credited Lopez for accepting the challenge.
Forget about their friendship for one more night.
“If they give me a hundred million dollars I’ll punch my dad in the face right now,” Romero joked Thursday. “The friendship doesn’t matter to me at all when the bell rings.”
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on X.
