Rolly Romero to defend WBA welterweight title against Teofimo Lopez at T-Mobile Arena

By Ben Hammans

2026-07-07T20:29:14Z () Updated: 2026-07-07T20:29:15Z ()

Roland 'Rolly' Romero and Teofimo Lopez during their respective bouts at Times Square | Times Square New York City | May-02-2025 | © Matchroom Boxing / Geoffrey Knott

Rolando “Rolly” Romero will make the first defence of his WBA welterweight title against Teofimo Lopez on August 22 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The fight is set to be carried as a joint Prime Video and DAZN pay-per-view event.

Romero, 17-2 (13 KOs), has not boxed since defeating Ryan Garcia on the May 2025 Times Square card in New York. That bout was for the WBA’s regular welterweight title, but Romero was later elevated to full champion after Jaron “Boots” Ennis vacated the belt to move up to 154lbs.

The Las Vegas fighter had been linked to possible fights with Devin Haney and Manny Pacquiao for his first defence, but those bouts did not come together. Instead, he returns at a major venue against Lopez, who is moving to 147lbs with the chance to become a world champion in a third division.

Lopez, 22-2 (13 KOs), enters the fight after losing his WBO junior-welterweight & Ring titles to Shakur Stevenson by unanimous decision on January 31. Before that defeat, the New Yorker had been ranked on many pound-for-pound lists and had built much of his recent title-fight profile at Madison Square Garden, where he headlined five championship bouts.

The Romero-Lopez pairing also reconnects two fighters who appeared on the same Times Square bill in May 2025. Romero beat Garcia in the main event, while Lopez outpointed Arnold Barboza Jnr on the same show before later dropping his 140lbs title to Stevenson.

For Romero, the fight offers a chance to stabilise his title reign after a lengthy spell without a defence. He previously lost his first defence of a 140lbs title to Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz in March 2024, on the undercard of Tim Tszyu’s 154lbs title defence defeat to Sebastian Fundora.

The next phase will centre on the formal build-up, undercard announcements and the pay-per-view details across Prime Video and DAZN. Romero now has his first WBA welterweight defence in place, while Lopez will go straight into a title fight in his welterweight debut.