Rolly Romero discusses friendship with Teofimo Lopez ahead of August fight

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 9: Rolly Romero reacts during a media interview after the press conference to announce his fight against Teofimo Lopez at AVALON Hollywood on July 9, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Melina Pizano/Getty Images) | Getty Images A fight between longtime friends Rolly Romero and Teofimo Lopez is official for August 22, and while Teofimo might downplay the friendship now that their fight is on, Rolly the Prophet doesn’t deny his enduring love for him. Here, Rolly explains how he knew this moment would come to pass in an interview with Mike Coppinger on behalf of Ring Magazine. Rolly on knowing Teofimo a long time and his thoughts of him “I love Teofimo with all my heart and honestly, like he said, I told him in the back room when we were getting ready for a fight — I said ‘you’re going to get another opportunity, Teo. You’re going to move up to ‘47, you’re going to get another opportunity.’ And by grace, for some reason I was the one that was able to give him that opportunity. It was out of love.” On whether they’ve remained in close contact as of late “I mean, we went time without talking and all that stuff but he has a family, he has kids, and I got my own stuff I worry about. You know how it is, as an adult you can’t be on top of everybody all the time. I’m my friend’s son’s godfather, I talk to him once a year. But I know for a fact I call that man, he’s going to be at my doorstep if I really need him. And vice versa. And that’s how it is. Whether I’m in contact with you or I’m not, you still be at somebody’s doorstep when they need you, right? Because that’s how some relationships are. You don’t need to be in contact everyday.” On what it feels like to fight someone he’s friends with “I mean people hurt each other that they love and they care for everyday…People you don’t love can’t hurt you.”

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Rolly Romero defends his WBA title against Teofimo Lopez next month.