Lopez is nonetheless confident that he’ll respond from his lopsided loss to Shakur Stevenson by beating Romero convincingly in their welterweight title fight. The former lightweight and junior welterweight champ is also eager to make his debut at 147 pounds when he challenges Romero for his WBA belt in a main event DAZN will stream from T-Mobile Arena.

“I feel strong,” Lopez said during an appearance on the most recent episode of “Inside The Ring,” available on DAZN and The Ring’s YouTube channel. “I feel [as] fast as ever. I think the most important part about this whole thing is really that what I did at 135 is what I’ll be at 147. My mind is really set on this, guys. I’m not gonna lie.

“And when my mind is set on something, I go out there and I take it. I’m going to beat the living dogsh*t out of Rolly Romero. Well, I’m sorry, I’m beating the living dog poop out of Rolly Romero. I think that’s what people need.”

Romero (17-2, 13 KOs) will end a 15-month layoff when he opposes Lopez (22-2, 13 KOs).

The North Las Vegas native hasn’t boxed since he upset Ryan Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the WBA’s secondary championship in the main event of a Ring card in May 2025 in New York. The WBA elevated Romero to full champion once Jaron Ennis gave up its title 13 months ago to compete at junior middleweight.

Lopez’s only action since Romero beat Garcia was his unanimous-decision defeat to Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs), who is ranked No. 3 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list. The highly skilled, left-handed Stevenson is a much different fighter than Romero, however, which leaves Lopez certain of a completely opposite outcome than he experienced in the main event of “The Ring 6” on January 31.

“How am I gonna approach it?” Lopez said. “Just with boxing his head off, getting back to my fundamentals and my basics. That’s really what I’m focused on in this upcoming match with Rolly. I know they say he’s a heavy hitter. We’ve gotten in the ring a few times in sparring, but nothing’s like a real fight. I look forward to a real showdown with him.”

Lopez, 28, is listed by most sportsbooks as more than a 2-1 favorite over Romero, 30. Garcia entered the ring as an 11-1 favorite to beat Romero, who dropped him in the second round and won by scores of 118-109, 115-112 and 115-112.

Subscribers to DAZN’s Ultimate plan, which costs $49.99 per month in the United States and £24.99 in the United Kingdom, can access the Romero-Lopez card for no additional charge. Non-subscribers can purchase the event via pay-per-view for a price to be announced.