Lopez, who lost a one-sided decision to Stevenson in January, acknowledged the possibility but believes he's ready for anything.

“Anything is possible, anything is doable. If they execute their gameplan, then maybe, who knows? We'll just see what happens that night,” Lopez told The Ring and other media.

Lopez (22-2, 13 KOs), a former Ring and unified 135- and 140-pound champion making his 147-pound debut, will find out when he meets Romero (17-2, 13 KOs) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on DAZN and Prime Video Pay-Per-View.

Romero will be defending his WBA welterweight title.

“I am very grateful for the situation and what happened with Shakur,” Lopez said. “Everything that I knew I should have just gone along with, and that is to trust my instincts. I should have moved to 147 a year ago, but we're here now and haven't missed a beat.”

Lopez lost his Ring and WBO 140-pound titles to Stevenson, who turned what many believed was a 50-50 fight into a near-shutout rout. The winner finished with 165-72 edge in punches landed and sliced open Lopez’s left eyelid.

Lesson learned?

“It’s not how you fall, it’s how you rise. My spirit [is going to be too much for Romero to handle],” Lopez said. “We're facing the best Rolando Romero that they have to offer and display. Romero has become more patient than the slugger he used to be.”

Romero recorded a career-best win over Garcia in May of last year by dropping his counterpart in the second round and cruising to a comfortable unanimous decision win. “Rolly” practiced patience in the fight, unlike in stoppage losses against Gervonta Davis and Isaac Cruz, and landed sharp jabs consistently to take his opponent out of his rhythm.

“His power is up there, but it's nothing that I haven't faced before,” Lopez said. “I can take a punch. I've taken hard shots in my career, but I always stood right there and brought back the pain.

“You have to bring the fight and bring the tempo. You have to push forward. I can make it a technical fight against Rolly, but in this type of situation, it's either put up or shut up. We're going to put up our best, or that's the rest.” Lopez said he won't hesitate to go for the kill against an opponent he considers a friend.

"It's my career over any career. Whatever happens that night, happens. It's already decided. We just need to put the paws on each other to end the discussion," Lopez said. “It's all fun and games until we get in the ring and get punched. He's a fighter. A fight is a fight. It depends on what fighter I am going to be that night.

"Skills pay the bills, but he's definitely a tough guy and is going to come to fight.” Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.