On Saturday, August 22nd, WBA World Welterweight champion Rolando Romero will make the first defense of his world title against former two-division world champion Teofimo Lopez at the T-Mobile Arenas in Las Vegas, NV. A twelve round world championship bout that can be seen worldwide on DAZN Pay-Per-View or included as part of a DAZN Ultimate subscription.
This is a fight that in some ways may be the unofficial start or a two fight box off as it will occur only weeks before WBC World Welterweight champion Ryan Garcia defends his portion of the World Welterweight championship for the first time against top Welterweight contender Conor Benn at the same arena. Ironically, Romero defeated Garcia in Times Square in New York City in May of last year for what became the vacant WBA world championship in the Welterweight division. Now over a year later, both fighters are atop the Welterweight division and the possibility of a rematch where the stakes would be higher is obviously there. For Romero, first he must contend with Teofimo Lopez.
Lopez is coming off losing a twelve round unanimous decision to Shakur Stevenson in January in which he lost the WBO World Jr. Welterweight championship. Now eight months later, Lopez attempts to move up in weight as a former Undisputed Lightweight and former Jr. Welterweight world champion in attempting to become a world champion in a third weight division.
What this fight will come down to in my eyes will center around which fighter will be able to set and dictate the tempo of combat. This is an encounter between two boxer/punchers who have shown the ability to do a little of everything inside the ring. There was a time, however, where Lopez, as a Lightweight, carved a reputation for being able to score quick, and often devastating knockouts. Coming off of a fight where he was bested by a master boxer in Shakur Stevenson, it will be interesting to see if Lopez takes a more aggressive approach here as Romero is also a crafty boxer that likes to give angles and most would say was able to have his way against Garcia last year by implementing such an approach where Garcia was dropped in the second round and simply could not find his rhythm throughout the fight.
As skilled as Romero has proven to be, in his two career defeats against Gervonta Davis and Issac Cruz, he has also shown vulnerability in that both Davis and Cruz were able to catch him and he was not able to stand up to either fighter’s punching power. Although Lopez has not scored a knockout/stoppage in over four years at the time this fight will take place, some will likely give the edge in terms of punching power to him and it is logical to assume that priority number one for the challenger will be to try and cut the ring off from Romero and not allow him an opportunity to be as elusive or establish a rhythm, which Garcia was unable to do when he fought the champion, but clearly worked for both Davis and Cruz when each fought him.
What is also clear here regardless of the outcome of this fight is the Welterweight division is starting to heat up again with several intriguing bouts both that have been made and could be made in the near future. With many focusing on the fight to come in September between Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn, both Romero as champion and Lopez as challenger are likely looking to make a statement with their performance that could make a showdown with the winner of Garcia-Benn enticing for whomever that might be in addition to the lucrative side of the equation that will likely be substantial for all involved.
“And That's The Boxing Truth.”
Romero vs. Lopez takes place on Saturday, August 22nd at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The fight as well as its full undercard can be seen worldwide on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN as either a standalone pay-per-view offering for $79.99 or included as part of a DAZN Ultimate subscription for $44.99 per month. The card will also be available at the aforementioned standalone price on DAZN on Prime Video. The card will begin at 6PM ET with free preliminary bouts followed by the main card beginning at 8PM ET/5PM PT.
(*North American Start Times Only.* *Card and Start Times Subject to Change.*
For more information about DAZN including schedules, list of compatible streaming devices, platforms, Smart TVs, availability around the world, local start times in your area, to order this event or subscribe please visit: www.DAZN.com.
To learn more about how to order this event or subscribe to DAZN through Prime Video channels please visit: www.PrimeVideo.com. (*DAZN Ultimate Subscription not available through Prime Video at this time.*)
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