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Add FightsATW on GoogleTeofimo Lopez (22-2, 13 KOs) is gearing up for the welterweight showdown against the current WBA champion, Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero (17–2, 13 KOs). Making a comeback after his January loss to Shakur Stevenson, Lopez isn’t worried; he is ready for anything that Romero throws at him.
In conversation with FightHub TV, Lopez was reminded of Romero’s plans to walk him down on fight night.
“It’s going to be an exciting fight. He wants it just as bad as I do. He’s defending his world title, he had a huge upset that he made on Ryan Garcia in Times Square. So, yeah, whatever he plans on doing, we’re ready for anything and everything. This is what we do,” he said.
Romero has a very real chance against Lopez, despite Lopez being the deserved favorite. The biggest thing in Rolly’s favor is that this is a completely different fight from Shakur Stevenson vs Lopez. Stevenson neutralized Lopez with elite movement and technical discipline, whereas Rolly is awkward and carries legitimate one-shot power. He also showed against Garcia that he can fight intelligently rather than simply brawl, dropping him and winning a wide decision.
The concern is the 15-month layoff and the fact that Rolly tends to be extremely low-volume, because he can bank rounds if Lopez lets him dictate distance. Moreover, it should also be seen whether he can actually force Lopez into exchanges. If the latter uses his jab, feet, and reach to stay outside, Rolly could spend long stretches doing nothing while Lopez wins rounds; that’s the conventional matchup and probably why he is favored. But Lopez is also moving up to 147 for the first time, while Rolly is the established welterweight champion and his power is probably the single biggest weapon either man brings.
Moreover, Lopez admitted that he has changed it up at training camp.
“I think the preparation. Preparation and the mental stability of the strength that I needed from all that. So, I went back to the drawing board and really just worked on my technique, most importantly,” he said. “We did track work a lot this time around. Usually when we do track, it helps my reflexes; it helps a lot of different things. So I think that was the main thing. We didn’t do that enough in the Shakur fight.”
‘Show The Authenticity”
Meanwhile, his rather public spat with his father has been doing the rounds. However, according to him, despite their differences, they will have each other’s backs.
“I just wanted to show the authenticity that it is,” he said. “It’s a struggle to get here, and I just wanted them to see how it really is, and I decided to do that on the Mr. Verzace podcast with my father. He wanted to talk about it later, but everybody needs to see that now, see what it really is and what it takes. I’m always going to ride with him; he’s going to ride with me, and we’re going to have those moments.”
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