Keith Thurman predicts Rolly Romero vs Teofimo Lopez: “He has what it takes”

Next weekend, Rolando Romero makes a first defence of his WBA welterweight world title as he takes on Teofimo Lopez in an intriguing all-American clash in Las Vegas. Now, former unified champion of the division Keith Thurman has shared his thoughts on the fight.

Romero has been inconsistent in his career, losing by knockout to both Gervonta Davis and Isaac Cruz but also showing elite power and disciplined performances, becoming a two-division world champion and boasting a win over Ryan Garcia in his most recent outing, 15 months ago.

Meanwhile, Lopez has proved that he is capable of beating the very best in the world, capturing world honours at both lightweight and super-lightweight with legendary wins over Vasiliy Lomachenko and Josh Taylor, respectively.

Now, after losing his super-lightweight crown to Shakur Stevenson at the beginning of the year, Lopez is stepping up to welterweight, hoping to become a three-division world champion.

Speaking to Fight Hub TV, Thurman declared his belief that Lopez will bounce back and dethrone Romero. 

“Rolly is interesting because he is somebody who is tough, but he is definitely a beatable character. He is definitely beatable, he comes at you in spurts, he has had some good says and he has had some bad days in that ring on fight night.

“I am more interested in what kind of Rolly we are going to see and how eager Teo is to make a statement at 147lbs. I favour Teo though, I think that he has what it takes.

“I think he has what it takes to move up and I think that this is a good match-up for him.”

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Romero-Lopez takes place at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, August 22, and will be available to watch live on DAZN pay-per-view.