Teofimo Lopez survives scare to outclass Rolly Romero and reach elite milestone

Teofimo Lopez survived brief turbulence to outclass Rolly Romero and become a three-weight world champion.

Romero and Lopez duelled in a captivating main event in Las Vegas, with the pair putting their friendship aside for a WBA 147lbs world title.

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The champion Romero was looking to score another impressive win after dropping and outpointing Ryan Garcia last year.

Meanwhile it was a big opportunity for Lopez to put his January loss to Shakur Stevenson behind him, to try and become a three-weight world champion.

It was Lopez who recorded a brilliant victory, taking majority decision victory on the judges’ scorecards.

But it was not without turbulence, as he suffered a real scare in the fifth round being badly cut with a left hook.

However, the skillful Lopez cruised his way to victory after recovering well, and was fortunate not to get the decision unanimously with one judge surprisingly seeing the contest a draw.

Nonetheless it was a fantastic moment for the skillful American, who won a world title in a third weight class.

It was a much-needed victory who will now likely explore bigger and better fights, with the winner of Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn or Devin Haney on the cards.

How Lopez and Romero reacted

Lopez beamed with pride and said: “Got some work to do, but I gotta say thank you God.

“This is about making boxing great again.

“You lost because you’re a winner. And I’m a true example of what winning is.”

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Romero simply thanked god and left briskly after the defeat saw him lose his belt.

Lopez beats Romero – what happened?

Both fighters looked in fantastic shape and in a spirited mood for the clash, which had unfolded behind training gym walls so many times before.

Lopez looked to narrowly be in the ascendency early on, with the opening three rounds fairly cagey but ‘The Takeover’ was using his skills to beat his foe to the punch.

Romero handed Lopez a warning sign in the fourth, and he cut his rival open in the fifth with a scraping left hook.

Blood streamed from the wound and a booming right hand was the biggest punch of the fight from Romero, which took Lopez’s feet from underneath him.

He survived the round but it was a big turning point, with the KO artist’s power hurting Lopez before the midway point.

Lopez recovered well and got his rhythm back despite the scare, although Romero’s single punch power remained an ominous threat.

For the champion as the bout ticked on, he was winning in small flashes, but was failing to land any sustained pressure, with Lopez on top for longer spells.

The pair embraced in a late display of respect before the final round, and Lopez was cruising to victory.

Lopez avoided a robbery on the scorecards as he was declared a majority decision victory, despite one judge seeing the bout as a draw.

The tallies read at 115-113, 116-112 in his favour and he is now set for some blockbuster fights after his period of rest.