“Teo has some sort of ability to make other fighters not throw a lot of punches and move a lot more then their usually style,” Shakur said on X. “I seen it with Loma, Ortiz, Sandor Martin And now Rolly. None the less Teo did what he could with the style that was presented and got the job done!”
The comparison does not hold up. Vasiliy Lomachenko, Jamaine Ortiz, and Sandor Martin were already skilled boxers and counterpunchers. Martin frequently stood his ground against Lopez, catching him with hooks and putting him down twice, although only one knockdown was called.
Using quick combinations while darting in and out, Ortiz did enough for many viewers to believe he deserved the decision. Lomachenko was an older, injured former featherweight competing against a naturally larger man.
None of those comparisons fit Romero. He was returning from a 15-month layoff and fought without urgency. There was nothing unusual Lopez had to do to discourage him. Romero has always been technically flawed, but his power gave him an opportunity that he never seriously tried to take.
Fans accused Shakur of praising Lopez to strengthen his own win over him. One response read, “Rolly lost that fight because of himself not throwing punches.” Another told Shakur, “You always glazing mfs u beat to make ur resume look better.”
Similar suspicion followed after William Zepeda defeated Lamont Roach on August 1. Before the fight, Shakur backed Roach emphatically, posting, “I got Roach over Zepeda ngl and I lowkey got it BTA,” using “belt to ass” to predict a dominant victory.
Once Zepeda won, Shakur quickly switched to praising a fighter he had already defeated. That history gives fans a reason to question whether his praise of Lopez is partly intended to strengthen his own resume.
That criticism may be harsh, but Shakur’s explanation overlooks the obvious. Romero looked bad enough to lose to numerous welterweights, light welterweights, and lightweights. Purely as a stylistic judgment, I would even pick super featherweight champion O’Shaquie Foster to outbox the Lopez who fought Saturday night, despite the enormous difference in natural size.
