By Boxing Bob Newman
Teófimo Lopez once again bounced back from a loss to capture another title in another weight class with a wide, yet inexplicably majority decision over defending WBA champion Rolly Romero.
While this was an exercise in patient execution on the part of both fighters, it was Lopez who carefully and tactically pressed the issue in the early going. Romero neglected the jab in the early going, throwing lead rights and left hooks, often missing.
A check left hook by Romero in the fourth caught Lopez and spun him sideways, drawing a reaction from the crowd. It was the fifth round where the tide finally turned. A sharp left by Romero opened a nasty cut above Lopez’ right eyebrow. A follow-up looping right hand buckled Lopez badly and Romero wildly went for the finish. Lopez was shoved to the canvas as he desperately tried to hold on, but it was correctly ruled no knockdown by referee Harvey Dock.
Romero strangely didn’t follow up on his success and Lopez ambitiously bounced back to take the sixth. Lopez did well in the seventh but took a left hook right at the bell which left him slightly wobbled. Once again, Romero didn’t come out for the next round with purpose. He simply seemed disengaged not only during the rounds, but even during the rest period when legendary trainer Ismael Salas was giving him instructions. Romero chose to be on his bicycle throughout most of the tenth.
A wild exchange with seconds to go in the eleventh saw both men affected by a hard shot from the other, bringing the crowd back to life. Inexplicably, Romero danced around the ring in the final round as if he was protecting a huge lead rather than trying to desperately come from behind to win. He did throw the occasional haymaker, each one missing by a mile, but that was about it in terms of a concerted effort to win. The judge’s final tally saw it as follows: 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112… a majority decision for the new WBA champion- Teófimo Lopez. Romero looked stunned that he lost while the crowd appeared in disbelief that the scores were that close. Lopez improves to 23-2, 13 KOs while Romero falls to 17-3, 13 KOs.
