Lopez walked away with a majority decision over Romero on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to capture the WBA welterweight championship and become a three-division world champion. The official scores were 116-112, 115-113 and 114-114.

More importantly, Lopez put himself into the middle of boxing’s most loaded weight class.

Seven months ago, things looked considerably different.

Shakur Stevenson dominated Lopez over 12 rounds at Madison Square Garden in New York, where he won 11 rounds on all three scorecards and took the WBO and Ring junior welterweight titles from him. It was the type of defeat that could have sent Lopez into a prolonged rebuilding period.

Instead, Lopez moved up to 147 pounds and immediately became a world champion in his first fight at the weight.

Now comes the interesting part.

At 29 years old, Lopez has already accomplished more than most fighters ever will. He defeated Vasiliy Lomachenko at lightweight. He dethroned Josh Taylor at junior welterweight. And now he has captured a championship at welterweight.

The objective shouldn’t simply be to defend his WBA belt – it should be to find the biggest fights possible.

And there are several options.

This is the obvious one.

Garcia will defend his WBC welterweight championship against Benn on September 12 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Lopez has already made it clear that he’ll be paying attention.

Following the victory over Romero, Lopez pointed directly toward the Garcia-Benn winner as a fight he wants next. Either outcome works.

Garcia is probably the biggest commercial fight available to Lopez at 147 pounds. Benn, should he win, would also present a big money opportunity, though the British contender has said his fight against Garcia will be his last at the welterweight limit.

Both Garcia and Lopez have enormous personalities. Both have experienced dramatic highs and lows. And there would be no shortage of material to sell the fight.

There is also an obvious championship angle.

Lopez now owns the WBA title. Garcia holds the WBC belt. A victory by Garcia on September 12 would immediately create a two-belt unification bout between two of the biggest American names in boxing.

Benn presents something completely different.

A Lopez-Benn fight would have major appeal in the United Kingdom, where Benn has established himself as one of the region’s biggest boxing attractions. Lopez has never been shy about traveling, and a major stadium fight in the UK would give him another opportunity to expand his profile internationally.

Either way, the winner of Garcia-Benn should sit at the top of Lopez’s wish list.

If Lopez wants another championship, Haney is impossible to ignore.

Haney holds the WBO welterweight title, which makes a fight with Lopez another potential unification fight. But this matchup wouldn’t need belts to sell it.

Lopez and Haney have circled each other for years. They’ve traded words publicly, competed in and around the same weight classes and shared several opponents.

The winner would leave with two major belts and a legitimate argument as the leading fighter in the division.

Stylistically, it presents the toughest puzzle for Lopez to solve. Ranked as the No. 1 welterweight contender by The Ring, Haney’s style is easily one of the toughest to overcome at the weight.

Haney would try to control distance and dictate the tempo. Lopez would have to find ways to close the gap and force exchanges without becoming frustrated.

After what happened against Stevenson, a fight with Haney would give Lopez another opportunity to answer some important questions about his ability to deal with elite technicians.

This might not be the fight Lopez wants, but it could become the fight he has to deal with.

Catterall is positioned as the WBA mandatory challenger, putting him directly in Lopez’s championship path.

And there is history. Catterall spent years chasing another opportunity at Josh Taylor after their controversial first fight. Lopez eventually became the man who officially dethroned Taylor.

Now their paths could finally cross.

From Lopez's perspective, however, the calculation is obvious.

If the WBA allows him to pursue a unification fight with Garcia, Benn, Liam Paro or Haney, those fights offer significantly greater upside.

Catterall is dangerous, a technically sound southpaw and experienced. He’s exactly the type of opponent who can make a champion look ordinary without necessarily bringing the financial reward of the division’s bigger names.

But if the WBA orders the fight and Lopez wants to keep the belt, the decision may eventually be made for him.

Then there is Paro, the IBF champion.

And unlike some of the other possibilities, this isn’t simply speculation.

Lopez specifically mentioned Paro following his victory over Romero, identifying the Australian as one of the fighters he could face next.

Paro has rebuilt himself at welterweight after losing his IBF junior welterweight title to Richardson Hitchins in December 2024. Since moving to 147 pounds, Paro put himself back into contention and established himself as a legitimate player in the division by capturing the IBF strap from Lewis Crocker, who Paro outpointed unanimously June 24.

More importantly, Paro represents exactly the type of opponent Lopez may need if the winner of Garcia-Benn isn’t immediately available.

He’s experienced, a world champion, and he’s a southpaw. And he’s good enough that beating him would strengthen Lopez’s position at welterweight without requiring Lopez to wait around for one of the division’s bigger names.

Both men held world titles at junior welterweight before moving into the welterweight picture, and both have experienced the type of setback that forced them to rebuild.

It might not generate the attention of Lopez against Garcia, Benn or Haney. But if those fights aren’t available next, Paro makes plenty of sense.

Lopez’s victory over Romero wasn’t flawless.

Romero hurt him in the fifth round, and there was a general feeling that Lopez’s defense wasn’t tight enough. But he adjusted, relied heavily on his jab and solid punches to the body – and did enough to leave Las Vegas with another world championship.

That was the important part. Lopez didn’t need to look unbeatable. He needed to become relevant again – mission accomplished.

The welterweight division now gives him something that junior welterweight no longer could: fresh opponents and potentially enormous fights.

Lopez doesn’t need another rebuilding fight.

He has a belt, he has a name, and after beating Romero, he once again has leverage. Now he needs to use it.