Boxing
What shift made Romero-Lopez possible after long-time friendship?
Romero vs Lopez: DAZN PPV & Prime Video - Saturday
During the buildup toward their fight, Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero revealed to DAZN how Teofimo Lopez Jr. once gave him $5,000 as a random pick-me-up gift. During the same segment, Romero shared how he offered Lopez a morale boost following the latter’s loss to Shakur Stevenson in January.
All this points to the two boxing stars being friends. So how did that friendship get put aside — even if momentarily — for Lopez to take aim at Romero’s WBA welterweight world championship Saturday night in Las Vegas, and live on DAZN PPV?
“Of course, he’s always been a good friend of mine at one point in time as well,” Lopez told DAZN News during a recent interview, “but now we’re coming to the point where I think we gotta face each other and get this done.”
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Lopez additionally told Fight Hub TV that ‘Rolly’ was more “cocky” when they crossed paths at the David Benavidez-Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez fight in May. But perhaps the clash being cemented was more triggered by the business of boxing.
Romero (17-2, 13 KOs) had scored a unanimous decision upset of Ryan Garcia in New York City’s Times Square in May 2025 and had unsuccessfully campaigned to get an opponent to share the ring with him after he told DAZN Boxing’s ShowBizz The Adult that the “automatic rematch clause” he had with Garcia was never honored. Any subsequent chatter between he and Conor Benn, and he and Devin Haney never materialized into a fight, either. So, he has needed an opponent.
The same can be said for Lopez after being handily beaten via a near shutout at the hands of Stevenson to start this year. That bout had Lopez losing his WBO super lightweight title, prompting a need for a change.
With both ‘Rolly’ and Lopez needing an opponent, the old friends connected with each man having the chance to move his career forward in a culmination of a fellowship that is over a decade strong.
“When it comes how far we go back as friends, I’d say probably 2015,” Lopez conceded to DAZN News. “2015 is when we first encountered each at other. It was for the Olympic qualifiers to represent Team USA in the Olympic trials. That’s how we all came about.”
And this is how one man will exit as welterweight world champion at the other’s expense.
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Watch Moses Itauma take the next step in his unstoppable career against Filip Hrgovic on Saturday, August 29, only on DAZN.
Buy as a one-off PPV or included along with Romero vs. Lopez (Aug 22) and Canelo vs. Mbilli (Oct) PPVs with a DAZN Ultimate Tier subscription.
