Errol Spence Jr Leans Toward Rolly Romero to Upset Teofimo Lopez

Errol Spence Jr isn't fully sold, but if you make him pick between Teofimo Lopez and Rolando Romero on August 22, he's rolling with Rolly. Speaking to DAZN ahead of the T-Mobile Arena showdown for Lopez's old welterweight belt, the former unified champion admitted his track record predicting Romero fights keeps steering him toward the upset. Romero, 17-2 with 13 stoppages, makes his first defence after being bumped from WBA 'regular' to full champion.

Spence said that every time he's picked against Romero, Romero has won — and that the 30-year-old causes enough chaos that he might just do it again. He hedged: if Lopez shows up on point, he takes Lopez. But he keeps circling back to Rolly's history of pulling off the unexpected.

That history got a fresh chapter in May 2025, when Romero outpointed Ryan Garcia over 12 rounds via unanimous decision, dropping him in the second along the way. It was a sizable upset at the time, and it reset how people talk about a fighter who'd previously been stopped by Gervonta Davis and Isaac Cruz. Those two losses are the whole reason Spence hesitates before committing.

The Case for Lopez

On paper, Lopez is the more credentialed man in the room. 'The Takeover' became a two-weight world champion by dethroning Vasyl Lomachenko and later Josh Taylor — the kind of resume Romero simply doesn't have. He's operated at the elite level and beaten elite names, full stop.

The asterisk is how he's looked doing it. Lopez has drifted through several flat, contentious nights, notably the narrow calls over Jamaine Ortiz and Sandor Martin. His only losses came against George Kambosos Jr back in 2021 — which he blamed on pre-fight health issues — and a January unanimous-decision defeat to Shakur Stevenson, now the WBO super-lightweight champion at 25-0.

So this is a matchup between two fighters who both know how to underwhelm and both know how to shock. Lopez has the pedigree; Romero has the momentum and the chaos factor. Spence, who's watched enough of both to have an opinion worth hearing, is betting on chaos. Whether that's conviction or a running joke about his own picks, we'll find out in Las Vegas.