Boxing divisional rankings: Lopez soars to top 3 in a new weight class

Teofimo Lopez became a three-division world champion with a majority decision victory over Rolando "Rolly" Romero to claim the WBA welterweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Lopez (23-2, 13 KOs) suffered a cut over his right eye in the fifth round when Romero landed a powerful right hand that briefly buckled his legs. Lopez, competing in his first fight since losing the WBO junior welterweight title to Shakur Stevenson in January, recovered and controlled the fight down the stretch, outlanding Romero in total punches (124-73) and power punches (62-49). It was Romero's first fight since he defeated Ryan Garcia by unanimous decision in May 2025.

Romero (17-3, 13 KOs) lacked urgency throughout the fight, moving around the ring and mostly throwing just one punch at a time. The scorecards of 116-112, 115-113 and 114-114 were closer than what the fight showed.

With the victory, specifically for the way he handled Romero's power, Lopez enters the welterweight rankings at No. 2, just behind potential future opponent Devin Haney. Romero, who had been removed from the rankings because of inactivity, re-enters at No. 7.

In the co-main event, middleweight contender Yoenli Hernandez extended his winning streak with a majority decision over Francisco Daniel Veron.

Hernandez (11-0, 9 KOs) went the distance for just the second time in his career, winning by scores of 99-91, 98-92 and 95-95. His combination of speed, power and tight defense neutralized Veron (17-2-1, 10 KOs), who landed just 13% of his total punches compared to 30.8% for Hernandez.

Hernandez retains the No. 5 spot at middleweight and makes another strong case for a world title opportunity soon.

Also on the card, Gary Antonio Russell defeated Victor Santillan to win the interim WBA junior featherweight title. Russell (22-1, 13 KOs) dominated the fight and knocked down Santillan (16-3, 7 KOs) in the final round but couldn't finish him.

It was Russell's first fight in more than a year and his third consecutive victory since a technical decision loss to Emmanuel Rodriguez in October 2022. Santillan, meanwhile, suffered his third loss in his past six fights.

With the victory, Russell moves up to the No. 9 spot in the division.

ESPN's divisional boxing rankings highlight the best in the sport in every weight class. Rankings will change based on recent results and performances. Fighters who have announced they are moving to a different weight class will be ranked in that new division, if warranted, only once they fight in that weight class. Fighters who currently own titles in two divisions can be ranked in both.

Fighters who haven't competed in the past 12 months -- and don't have a fight scheduled -- will be dropped from the rankings until they fight again. Any fighter who tests positive for a performance-enhancing substance will also be removed. That boxer will be eligible to reenter the rankings after his next bout.

For a list of the current champions in all weight classes, click here. For ESPN women's divisional rankings, click here.

Jump to this week's changes: Welterweight | Junior welterweight | Lightweight | Featherweight | Junior featherweight

HEAVYWEIGHT (UNLIMITED)

CRUISERWEIGHT (UP TO 200 POUNDS)

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (UP TO 175 POUNDS)

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT (UP TO 168 POUNDS)

MIDDLEWEIGHT (UP TO 160 POUNDS)

JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT (UP TO 154 POUNDS)

WELTERWEIGHT (UP TO 147 POUNDS)

JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHT (UP TO 140 POUNDS)

LIGHTWEIGHT (UP TO 135 POUNDS)

JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHT (UP TO 130 POUNDS)

FEATHERWEIGHT (UP TO 126 POUNDS)

JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHT (UP TO 122 POUNDS)

BANTAMWEIGHT (UP TO 118 POUNDS)

JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHT (UP TO 115 POUNDS)

FLYWEIGHT (UP TO 112 POUNDS)

JUNIOR FLYWEIGHT (UP TO 108 POUNDS)

STRAWWEIGHT (UP TO 105 POUNDS)