Romero has had multiple big fights fall through over the last 15 months, including a potential unification clash with Devin Haney. Lopez even spurned the chance to face Romero when it was first offered to him.

Romero and Lopez will set their friendship aside when they meet Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. They showed signs of going from friends to foes at points during the final press conference Thursday, including over how the fight came together.

“I always knew how you always were about me,” Lopez said. “I was always kind about it, because I got a big heart. … You took the fight because you believe you can beat me.”

Lopez (22-2, 13 KOs) added that he believes Romero didn’t have to take the fight because he’s a champion.

“I tried to fight everybody else,” Romero responded. “[Lopez] is the last one I wanted to fight. … Ryan [Garcia] ducked, [Manny] Pacquiao, Conor Benn, all of them ducked me. Thank you for taking the fight, but you didn’t take it the first time. You declined the fight, then you tried to run to Zuffa Boxing. They didn’t want you, and then you came back.”

Both fighters strongly opposed the claims the other made in the verbal exchange. Lopez claimed that Zuffa wanted him, while Romero (17-2, 13 KOs) said he’s always been supportive of the Brooklyn native.

“Don’t say I’m a hater because you know of all the boxers, I’m the only one to ever support you. … Don’t say I never supported you. They can say whatever they want, but I’ve never been a liar.”

Romero’s and Lopez’s friendship dates to them sparring around 10 years ago. Romero also previously acknowledged that the wealth he’s accumulated goes back to when Lopez gave him $5,000 in 2019. Romero, 30, last fought in May 2025, scoring a unanimous decision over Ryan Garcia to win a secondary WBA welterweight title. The Las Vegas native later became a two-division champion when he was elevated to full titlist after Jaron “Boots” Ennis vacated the belt to move up to 154 pounds.

Lopez, 29, is seeking to become a three-division champion in his first fight at welterweight. He lost The Ring and WBO 140-pound titles in his last fight, a one-sided unanimous decision to Shakur Stevenson on January 31.

Given the stakes and his accomplishments, including becoming a unified lightweight champion when he outpointed Vasiliy Lomachenko in October 2020, Lopez is motivated to remind the boxing world what he’s capable of when he faces Romero.

“I beat Lomachenko when nobody wanted to fight Lomachenko,” Lopez said. “[Lomachenko] was No. 1 pound-for-pound over Canelo [Alvarez], over [Terence] Crawford, over all [their] heads. You came afterwards and congratulated me. All you guys are fans. All of you are fans. I'm fighting my fans right now. You feel me?

“Who's the best fighter that Shakur has on [his] resume? Me. They put him at No. 3 [on the pound-for-pound list.] Get out of here with all that stuff. I think everybody needs a reality check on this thing. I'm coming back with vengeance, and I mean that. I ain't coming back with no other stuff but that. That's what we on, and I'm coming for you first.”

Romero versus Lopez headlines a Premier Boxing Champions card on DAZN PPV and Amazon Prime Video PPV (8 p.m. ET) for $79.99 in the United States. Subscribers to the DAZN Ultimate plan, which costs $49.99 in the U.S. and £24.99 in the UK, can watch the card at no additional cost.