Tim Bradley has considered the “freaky strength” of Rolando Romero, believing it could play a factor in his welterweight showdown with Teofimo Lopez.
The pair will collide at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, on August 22, with Romero making a first defence of his WBA world title.
He became the sanctioning body’s regular champion by defeating Ryan Garcia, who he floored in round two before winning their contest by unanimous decision in May 2025.
Since then, the American has been elevated to full WBA champion, only to remain out of the ring after attempting to secure fights with the likes of Devin Haney and Conor Benn.
Now, though, Romero will finally return to action against Lopez, who comes off a wide unanimous decision defeat to Shakur Stevenson in January.
As a result of being comprehensively outboxed, the 28-year-old was relieved of his WBO super-lightweight title but now looks to reinvent himself at 147lbs.
According to Hall of Famer Bradley, however, facing the hard-hitting Romero in his first outing at the new weight could prove to be a catastrophic mistake for Lopez.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Bradley highlighted the difference in power as a major factor when assessing their WBA title fight next month.
“What [version of] Rolly gonna show up? Do we need the more calculated Rolly – the one that fought Ryan Garcia … a very awkward boxing style?
“Or, do we need the Rolly that’s gonna bring it to Teo? Teofimo Lopez ain’t got no power. 140lbs – he ain’t knocked nobody out.
“He going to [147lbs], jumping up 7lbs. Rolly is thumping – he can punch. He’s been at [147lbs] for some time now. It’s a different feeling when you get hit with them bricks, and Rolly got that freaky strength.”
Bradley went on to admit that his comments can also be applied to Lopez, in terms of wondering which version of ‘The Takeover’ will actually show up.
