Teofimo Lopez is a three-weight world champion, albeit at the expense of his longtime friend.
Lopez captured the WBA welterweight title Saturday at T-Mobile Arena from Las Vegas native and reigning champion Rolando Romero with a 116-112, 115-113, 114-114 majority decision.
A unified champion at lightweight and the WBO champion at junior lightweight, Lopez was making his welterweight debut.
Romero cut Lopez (23-2, 13 knockouts) atop the right eye with a left hook in the fifth round and followed with a flurry. But Lopez controlled the pace and tempo with front-foot pressure in conjunction with his jab. He mixed in timely body shots and outworked Romero (17-3, 14 KOs) down the stretch.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contat Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on X.
