Lopez (23-2, 13 KOs) bounced back from a lopsided unanimous-decision loss against Stevenson in January to mostly mute Romero's offense en route to becoming the WBA welterweight titleholder and a three-division champion in his 147-pound debut.

CompuBox credited Lopez with landing 124 of 530 punches and Romero with 73 of 352. With the fight hanging in the balance, Romero went through significant stretches inactivity, especially in the second half of the fight after cutting Lopez and nearly dropping him in the fifth round.

For Stevenson, The Ring and WBO junior welterweight champion, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Romero's offense was nullified.

"Teo has some sort of ability to make other fighters not throw a lot of punches, and move a lot more than their usual style. I've seen it with Vasiliy Lomachenko, Jamaine Ortiz, Sandor Martin, and now, Rolly.

"Nonetheless, Teo did what he could with the style that was presented and got the job done … Respect to Rolly, a champion who will fight anybody."

Lopez said that Romero's lack of spirit for slugging it out was by design.

"[His output was low] because I was hitting him back, plain and simple," Lopez said during his post-fight press conference. "I was waiting for the exchanges, and he knows that I'm very quick and I'm very fast with my shots. But at the same time, I'm very selective. I was tagging that body a lot.

"If Rolly didn't want to engage, we focused on at least hitting his arms and his stomach throughout the rounds, and that's what slowed him down mainly, and that's what made us win the fight tonight."

Stevenson's resume, meanwhile, continues to age well.

Just like Lopez became a champion after losing to The Ring's No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter, so did William Zepeda when he picked up the vacant WBC lightweight belt earlier this month after beating Lamont Roach, 13 months following his loss to Stevenson for the same title.

As for Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs), the return date and opponent for the Newark, New Jersey, native is still unknown after the 29-year-old southpaw signed with Zuffa Boxing in July.

Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan