Teofimo Lopez became a three-division world champion tonight, taking the WBA welterweight title from Rolly Romero by majority decision, with three scores closer than they probably should have been.
Lopez (23-2, 13 KO) seemed a clear winner to most observers, though judges had it 115-113 and 116-112 in his favor, plus a 114-114 card from Glenn Feldman.
Teofimo spoke about his performance, his approach in the fight, and thanked his former matchmakers at Top Rank for helping to provide him with the experience needed to get through a couple of tougher moments.
On the score cards
“If you lose and you come back, you never lost, because you’re a winner. I’m a winner. I’m a true example of what winning is. It ain’t about losing, it’s about never giving up. The score card, I couldn’t care less, because in the end we got the victory.”
On the fight being what he expected or not
“I expected something similar to this, just a little more combinations from Rolly’s side, but he was just calculated and staying composed, listening to the instructions in his corner. But we had to go and push the fight. There was a shot that he hit me with that woke me up and I told him right there, you gotta do better than that. It’s not that easy, you’re not gonna take me out that easy. So I want to let all you other fighters know, hit me!”
On the fifth round shot that hurt him
“I was just buzzed, honestly. Maybe my legs said something different, but I got right back up. I stayed cool, calm, collected, clinched on him so he wouldn’t throw that much. I’ve got that ring experience. I think that’s what’s helped me throughout this journey. I want to thank Top Rank, I want to thank the matchmakers, Bruce Trampler and Brad Goodman. Because of the way that they worked my career, I was able to weather the storm tonight.”
On his jab-heavy approach
“Just staying busy, keeping my range. He’s a strong puncher, everyone knows this.”
On what could be next for him
“I’ll be honest, I’ve got a baby on the way, I just want to take some father time, man. We’ll talk about what’s next after this, but I want to just take a moment to feel like all of you guys, like a human.”
On how he felt at 147
“I felt great! The whole thing is, we’ve just got to work on things. Little by little. We didn’t take a tune-up, we fought the WBA champion in Rolando Romero, and this is what comes with it.”
