Teofimo Lopez Talks Future After Beating Rolly Romero, Becoming 3-Division Champion | TMZ Sports

Welcome inside the TMZ newsroom. I am so excited, man. We have got the newly crowned WBA welterweight champion, and by the way, three division title holder, Tiafumo Lopez, friend of the show for a very long time, friend of TMZ Sports. Couple days, man, we just watched you Saturday night, Tio, in Vegas, 12 round war, and now here you are Monday afternoon here in Los Angeles. I guess, first of all, how you feeling, man? I'm feeling like a champ. You are. You know, and I'm just, I'm very thankful and grateful we finally get to, like, conversate like this in person. It feels great, and what else can I say, man? Ready to take over this division. Yeah, after many, many years talking, talking about, you know, sort of you as being a young guy, and obviously now with all you've done, after the fight, I don't even know if you had made your way back to your locker room yet, and Roley was already calling it a robbery. Oh, yeah. What was your thoughts when you first heard that? I think it's just hard for him to digest that he just lost, and the way he did. I mean, his corner felt like he needed to push the fight, and as he should have, but he didn't. You know, I think the amount of punches that I was connecting on his body, the amount of feints as well, and just pressing the fight after that fifth round that he succeeded a little bit, it just woke me up, and it drove me to realize, well, I'm fighting a champion for a reason, we got to take over, and we did that. I saw you say that it woke you up, but in what way, like physically, mentally, like he lands the good shot, what happened in that fifth round? I kid you not, all of the above. Really? All of the above, and it was that moment where I just bit down on the mouthpiece, that's why we have a mouth guard, right? And it's like, and I just said, oh, no, no, no, I got to get mine back, and that was it, and I think that just brought a different drive in me that I haven't seen since 2023 with Josh Taylor. So if that doesn't happen, do you think it's potentially a different fight than going forward? Would that realization ever have come? You know what? We would never know now. It doesn't matter either, by the way. It really doesn't, you know, but I think it's moments like that that I strive for, is to make the best fights happen like that. The most competitive fights like this, for that particular reason, is so that everyone else is out their seats, jumping up, cheering, and screaming, and, you know, Rollie just had won and beat Ryan Garcia in Times Square, you know, just a little over a year ago, and it's just, it goes to show, like, we're just fighting the best for a reason. Yeah. How hurt were you in that moment, Tio? I mean, it was obviously a big punch, he's a powerful guy. Talk to us about that. Honestly, I was just, I was stunned, but I wasn't, like, dramatically hurt to the point where I couldn't keep myself up, you know, and I think that was the whole thing there that I realized that I could hang in this weight division. I mean, Rollie is, like, the biggest and most strongest puncher at 147 right now. I mean, we've seen him and how he succeeded with Ryan Garcia and how he dropped him in the second round. I mean, so he's there, you know, he's there to really give you the big punches if need be, if you're there, but I think that was the whole thing, was reassessing, going back to my corner, my coach, my father, he gave me great instructions alongside with Milton LaCroix, who I started with when I was six, and just going right to the body and following up with my jabs were my main success of that night. Is it hard in that moment to not, like, to not panic, for lack of a better term, or to want to get your get back, like you said, not to go headhunting, not to try and land a big punch on him, to stick to your plan, to work his body, obviously that's going to pay off later in the fight. Is it hard in those moments when you face a little adversity? Honestly, you know, maybe before, but I think that was the purpose of this experience with my journey as becoming, like, the undisputed, not-undisputed host situation, but facing Lomachenko, Richard Comey, Josh Taylor, Sander Martin, the list goes on and on in my resume, but it brought me to the point where it's like, when it happens, you still have all those extra rounds to get it back, so just stick to the game plan, don't lose track of that, and I think that was the main thing that I kept in my mind when that happened in the fifth round with Rowling. Do you think it was a tactical error on his point? Because, like you said, his corners seemed to think he needed to press the issue, but he didn't, he didn't land nothing on you in the 12th round, you threw, you know, 200-ish more punches than him, you landed more than him, like, what do you attribute his lack of action to? I think it's all mental, you know, but also the amount of, I punch hard, you know, people think I don't have power, but how is a heavy-handed fighter backing up, you know, and Shakur Stevenson, who I shared the ring with earlier this year, he said it too, you know, he said, I'm starting to notice that there's a pattern with Tio where everybody is, like, backing up, you know, when he faced Loma, when he faced Taylor, when he faced Sam Martin, Jermaine Ortiz, these guys were all on the back end, and same thing applied with Rowling, so I think that people forget, it's not that, oh, where's your power, bro? It's there, it's just, do they want to engage with it? Right, right, it kind of takes an active dance partner, I mean, you're, like, highlight reel of knockouts is as good as anybody, like, it's ridiculous. It's fun, man. As you know, you know, he's obviously now called for a rematch, do you have any interest in that? There's a lot of things you could do at 147, obviously, any interest? No interest at all, look, he's the champion at that time, he was the champion, and in our contract you have, you could do a lot of things in your contract, you could have rematch clauses, you could have rehydration clauses, as we've seen in the past with other fighters, so he didn't do that because he believed that he could have just beaten me, so him asking for a rematch, I don't think people want to see that. I think people now want to see Tio Fimo unified with all these other current champions right now, we have Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn coming up in a couple weeks, I'll be there tuning in and, you know, we'll see what happens. Okay, which would be super exciting to fans, obviously, are you eyeing the winner of Benn and Garcia? I mean, who isn't? No, I mean, absolutely. And who wouldn't want to watch that? Right, right, I think, absolutely, I think it would be great to see my competitors, my champions that are in my weight class, really, right, and really put on a great show. Whoever wins, honestly, it's a great, it's a win-win. Obviously, we would love to see Ryan Garcia do some exciting moments and have those exciting moments in that fight, but we'll just have to wait and see, but I'm definitely looking forward to the winner. And obviously, you and Ryan and all those guys have been, Devin, you've been linked together forever, so to finally do it would be awesome. Kind of to go back for just a second, I wanted to ask this, how do you feel like the power carried to 147? Do you feel like it was there, it was good, yeah, no problems carrying the power? No problems carrying the power, I think it's just me following up on my shots, that's the only thing, but it's like, I'm going in there, that was my 147 welterweight debut against a world champion, against the heaviest puncher at welterweight division, I think people forget that, but, you know, now, now that I know the feelings of it, I'm only going to get better from this point forward. Really, what do you, what do you, what's different, what do you try and tweak next time, what do you maybe do differently when you get in the ring next time, what's the, kind of, now that you have some experience? Yeah, well, eight ounces, right, but this is a heavier weight class, right, but I could feel the punches now, I know what I'm going to be expecting moving forward on these fighters and the next current champions, and then at the same time, I think also, I could punch, it's there, now I just got to be more selective on the power shots and when to throw, and I think that's where I'm going to be practicing a lot more on, not taking a step back from my combinations, but adding more to it. And like you said, Rollie, one of the biggest guys and hardest punchers at Welterweight, so he's not just like an ordinary Welterweight. Yeah. Right. Seriously. You mentioned Shakur, talk to me about bouncing back, because it's not, especially for a guy like you, you hardly ever lose, you're one of the very best in the world, period, how about that, coming back from a loss, a couple months later, here you are, champion at 147. I know, what better way to, right? No, it's amazing, it's awesome, and it's a great message, I think, too, like. It is, though, honestly, I think that we all forget one thing, it's like, it's not how you lose, it's how you come back from a loss, and I think even Rocky Balboa, right, and like, those scenes right there, it drove me as a young kid, and I'm living it, it's like, I'm literally in the movie of Rocky right now, in my life, in this journey of boxing, I think, it just resonates, it's all about not giving up, you know, no matter how many times you get knocked down, you got to keep getting up and fighting. Yeah. Is there anything to, not that you'd ever want to lose, but, you know, even how it is with boxing, and that, you know, that undefeated record is always so protected, you have a loss, and then it's almost like, hey, I could just go out there and fight, and if I lose, I don't want to lose, but whatever, it is what it is, and to not be obsessed with not losing. You know, I think it's more so of just making the best fights, if you want to fight the toughest guys, you know, where you stand with them, right, and where you align with, are you the best fighter, too, like, why is the MMA industry so successful? Yeah, the best fight the best. Exactly, prime example, and then, so the same thing is what, they captured it, and they grabbed that from boxing. Yeah. So, we need to also now, it's a reminder with the MMA combat sport, and bringing that back to us, I'm just, that's why I'm focused on, like, truly, truly make boxing great again, in my sense of, like, let's make the best fight the best. Right, it feels like we're going in that direction, doesn't it? Yes. Yeah. I mean, 147 is stacked right now, you got Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, those two fighters right there that fought each other, they have history. Myself, now, in the mix, we all have history, and then you have a guy from Australia, so it's like, there's so many ways to make this all work out. Do you, are you interested in Devin? Is that something that you? Yes, yes, yes, I am interested in Devin, in the sense of fighting him, and, but my thing is, I told him, I said this, when Xander versus Boots, when they fought each other at the Barclays Center in New York, I told him in the back, I said, hey, listen, me and you, at the end, for Undisputed at Welterweight. I said, the reason why is because the whole situation with me, when I fought Loma, and then they said that you were the champion, I wasn't, for whatever reason, I think, let's settle it right there in the square circle, for Undisputed at Welterweight. Speaking of that Loma fight, is that the highlight of your career? Is that what you would say? No, no, no. What is? The highlight of my career, I would say, when I won my first world title, I was 22, at the Madison Square Garden, the Mecca of boxing. Yeah, and especially for, you know, a New York guy, right? New Yorker, yo, make some five, baby, let's go. Let's go. I love to hear that. So that's the highlight. I mean, you've had some things that, I mean, the Loma thing was amazing, that was a, did you even shock yourself with that? Did you have doubt going in, or did you? No, not at all. I had Joe Tessitore from ESPN, and, you know, also a commentator for the WWE, and he, the night before my fight with Loma, he just was like, he was sitting there in awe, because I was behind, and I was sitting with the production team, and they were showing me, like, the clips of what they were going to post up for tomorrow's event with me and Loma, and he's just sitting, he's like, you're about to fight the number one pound-for-pound guy, and you're sitting here with us, are you okay? It's like, no, I'm just so relaxed about it, yeah, because it's the amount of belief that you have to have within yourself. But it's funny, because it's funny, from an outsider to you, I think people look at it like, I've never talked to a fighter before who told me they're going to lose the fight, you know what I mean? Everyone always said the same thing, but you actually did believe that. I always wonder if guys actually have doubt inside, especially when you're a young guy going up against this legend, and then you go in there, and you beat him, and you do what you said you were going to do. Seriously, that's why it's like the takeover, that's why it's like, you know, we walk the walk, and we talk the talk, and we do it all together, and I think that's what I feel at 147, you know? I told everyone in the sense of my fight week last week, leading up to Rolly, I said, I already visioned myself as Undisputed at 147, and this is the road to it, and we did it. Do you think this is it? Is this the highest you'll go? Will you graduate another weight class as you get older? What's the future look like? Are you saying, hey, I'm almost done? What's the plan? What's Teofimo Lopez's future look like? Nowhere near done yet, I'll say that. Yes, I just turned 29, so this is a great start of this 29th year for my life, and honestly, I'll say that I'm just going to listen to my body. You know, I say I've got about 18-24 months of 147, and we'll go from there. How does your body feel, especially after a fight? Are you really sore right now? How do you feel? I kid you not. You know what I did at, like, I haven't slept, to be honest with you. I still haven't slept. I'm just all in full emotions. Yeah. No, you know what I did at, like, 5.30 in the morning? What? I changed my clothes, and I went straight to the gym. Did you really? Yeah, I just wanted to reward myself for the effect of doing it. It's like that mama mentality. Right. Seriously, yeah. Okay, so Saturday, so Sunday more so. Yeah, yesterday. Jeez, you make me feel real bad about myself here now. I just, I know that there's so many other guys out there that want to do the same thing, and they're so driven, and you got to match that, really. No matter if you're 29 or 39, you got to match it. Right, and that still applies when you're a champion, when you've been champion in multiple divisions. Like, nobody realizes it, but, like, me and Shakur, when we fought earlier this year, we broke records still, by the way. 1971, we broke the record for most attendance ever recorded in Madison Square Garden by a thousand more seats. Wow. From Ali and Frazier, um, one. How cool is that? And from 1971, the fight of the century, that one. Wow. For us to break the records, but then even, even in defeat, I still won something historical. Yeah. Right, and I feel like, you know, men like Muhammad Ali paved a way for me to realize, like, it's all about, all about how you bounce back from it all. That's gonna make you the greatest champion of it all. Yeah. You know, it's, uh, suffer now, live the rest of your life as a champion. There you go. And that's what I think I'm using as fuel for me now. That's amazing. Anything else you want to talk about? Anyone you want to send a message to? Anything? Well, no, to be honest, I'll say this, you know, um, I'm really here, truthfully, truthfully, as a champion, I, I really, I agree with everyone here on, on talks about the sport of boxing. Like, why is it a hiccup now? Why are we not seeing more fights happen? Why are we not seeing the best fight the best, right? Oh, is it business? Why didn't we get the Keyshawn Davis versus Devin Haney fight? This is the issue that we're having. I'm really trying to send the message by leading it by example, right? And the example is really like, just make the fights happen no matter how much money you're making or not. Um, if those people really, if not those people, but like, if the consumers really want this, just go out there and do it. Show everyone why you're the best. Is it more on the promoter or the boxer? It could be both. It's on both. It could be both and the manager. It could be, okay. There's a, there's a, okay. There's a thing though. You guys need to understand there's a list behind it that goes through stages and steps. Right. But I need to understand, like, I need to have everyone understand is that the fighters are forgetting one thing, all these promoters and all these managers can't make the money without the fighter being there, the product, you know, we got to sell the product. And if you just put the product as like an exclusive thing, eventually it's going to die out because people want to see it more and they're not getting it. Right. Right. It's going to put a bad taste in everyone's mouth. So we just need them more active. We need more activity out here in the sport. And me, I'm now directly, my partners now are directly the network of the zone would take over promotions. I am a promoter now, and I'm the first of this era as a champion, super world champion and a promoter at the same time, simultaneously. So I'm very grateful in my position. So you'll definitely get all the fights you are asking for. Right. That makes it easy. Right. So you're the boss, right? Yeah. I don't have to report to nobody. Right. I don't have any of those things, but I just, I'm trying to send, like, I'm trying to leave, you know, trails of breadcrumbs for those to pave the way to I'm paving the way so that they can follow. Right. Yeah. The idea is everyone follows and we get the best fights, man. It was great to meet you in person, my brother. Oh, always. Thank you so much. Thank you, Tio. Congratulations, man. Thank you.