After losing his WBA welterweight championship to Teofimo Lopez by majority decision, now ex-champ Rolando Romero expressed his disagreement with the verdict.  "I got hit with two punches the whole fight that barely grazed me,” said Romero. “I was never in any trouble. When I heard 114-114 I knew it was a robbery." The numbers did not support Romero's claim.  Other than round five, Romero never put together a serious offensive charge, which was reflected in the CompuBox stats: Romero failed to land double digit punches in all but the fifth round. Overall, Lopez enjoyed a 124 to 73 edge in punches and landed a career-high 62 jabs to keep Romero at bay.

 

Meanwhile, Lopez, now a three-division champion, shared an inspirational message about his return from defeat to world champion."If you lost and you come back, then you never lost, because you're a winner,” said Lopez. “I'm a true example of what winning is. It's about not giving up.”

 

Round five featured the most dramatic moment of the fight, as Romero opened up a significant cut over Lopez’s right eye, and hurt him with a series of punches that included a left hook and a looping right hand. A bloodied Lopez showed impressive boxing IQ to survive the ensuing onslaught from Romero, and was able to make it to the next round. "I expected something similar to this, but more combinations from Rolly,” said Lopez. “He was staying composed and listening to his corner. We had to push the fight. He hit me with a shot that woke me up. I told him he has to do better than that. I was just buzzed. I got right back to it. I stayed cool, calm and collected. We have the ring experience. That's what's helped me throughout my journey.”

 

From there, it was Lopez’s speed and boxing ability that took over, as he consistently used his footwork to flummox Romero’s offense.

 

Romero looked to have gained some of his momentum back in the waning seconds of round eleven when he knocked Lopez off balance again with a left hook heading into the final frame. After another highly-competitive round, the judges scored the fight 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112.

 

"I just had to stay busy and keep my range against a strong puncher,” said Lopez. “I'm just looking forward to the next thing."