Teofimo Lopez absorbs punishment to win WBA welterweight titles

Teofimo Lopez Jr. seemed on the verge of defeat Saturday night. He was bloodied and battered, dripping blood from a nasty cut above his right eye. Rolly Romero couldn’t put the Honduran American away, though.

Lopez survived Romero’s onslaught in the fifth round. Then Lopez steadily worked his way into control on the judges’ scorecards to win Romero’s WBA welterweight title via majority decision.

Teofimo “Takeover” Lopez Jr. definitely took over at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to become a three-division champion. Cuban middleweight Yoenli Hernandez remained undefeated with a majority decision over Argentina’s Francsco Daniel Veron in the co-main event. 

Eight months after losing his WBO world super lightweight title to Shakur Stevenson, Lopez (23-2, 13 KOs) moved up in weight class to challenge his old friend. Romero (17-2) proved to be the stronger puncher.

Teofimo Lopez Jr. was rewarded for his resiliency and work rate, though.

“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.”

Teofimo Lopez Jr. survives bloody fifth

The fifth round proved to be the most exciting of the bout. With a powerful, looping right hand and devastating left hook, Romero opened a cut over Lopez’s right eye, sending blood all over Lopez’s face, chest and white trunks.

AND NEW ✅

Highlights from Teofimo Lopez’s world title win vs Rolly Romero 🍿 pic.twitter.com/CHIsqJoJh5

— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) August 23, 2026

Despite an onslaught of punishment, though, Romero couldn’t put Lopez away. Teofimo Lopez survived the fifth and then steadily gained control of the bout.

More from Our Esquina

Teofimo Lopez Jr. moves up to challenge Rolly Romero

Mexican Monster David Benavidez adds new crown

James Rodriguez catches World Cup fever from wife Marbella

Using his superior speed and a career-high 62 jabs to keep Lopez’s powerful punches away, Lopez outpunched Romero 124-73. Despite delivering 51 fewer punches, Romero clearly disagreed with the decision in his hometown.

“I was never in any trouble,” Romero said. “When I heard 114-114 I knew it was a robbery.”

Despite the Compubox stats, Romero was adamant afterward that Romero hit him with only two punches the entire fight. Moreover, he claimed those punches barely grazed him.

The punishment Romero inflicted was clearly more noticeable. Romero’s dominant fifth round wasn’t enough for the judges to give Romero the victory. One judge scored the bout 114-114. Another scored it 115-113 for Lopez, and a third scored it 116-112.

“I expected something similar to this, but more combinations from Rolly,” Lopez said. “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.”

Yoenli Hernandez remains undefeated

The 10-round co-main event between Hernandez (11-0, 9 KOs) and Veron (17-2-1, 10 KOs) also went the distance.

One judge scored the Hernandez-Veron bout 95-95. Another judge scored it 99-91 in favor of Hernandez, who is the No. 2 ranked contender by the WBA, WBC and WBO. The third judge scored the fight 98-92 in Hernandez’s favor.

Veron outpunched Hernandez 809-649 overall. Hernandez, however, landed 122 power punches, almost 80 more than the 45 power punches Veron landed. 

“I liked that Veron was the type of fighter who applied pressure,” Hernandez said after connecting on 31% of his punches. “That’s exactly what I was looking for in an opponent. It was really good for me to face a fighter like that.”