Lopez Confirms Verbal Agreement To Challenge Romero

Teofimo Lopez is moving to welterweight — and he is going straight for a title.

The former unified lightweight champion confirmed a verbal agreement is in place for a challenge against WBA welterweight titleholder Rolando Romero, with negotiations between their legal teams ongoing and an August date circulating.

"I've been, like, living under a rock, because I haven't heard anything like that. But apparently, I'm told that we verbally agreed on a fight, and now we're just getting the details between my legal team and obviously Rolly Romero,” Lopez

The approach is consistent with how Lopez has always operated. A former champion at 135 and 140 pounds, he has no interest in building toward a title shot at welterweight — he is taking one immediately.

"I think, realistically, I wouldn't be known as 'The Takeover' without taking over the division. I will be fighting at 147, and we fight the best, that's who they are. I'm gonna stick to it. We've verbally agreed to it, and the rest is paperwork,” Lopez

Lopez is coming off a one-sided loss to Shakur Stevenson in January, a result that raised questions about where he stands relative to the elite level after a career that has included significant highs and some difficult nights.

Romero has not fought since upsetting Ryan Garcia for the WBA title in May 2025 — over a year of inactivity heading into a first defence against a former two-weight champion. The champion has his own questions to answer about activity and readiness.

"That's what we need for the sport. We need to make the fights happen. No more talking on Twitter, no more of this stuff, we just need to make the fights happen already. Win, lose, or draw, I'm gonna give you guys the best fights no matter what," Lopez