Shortly after his upset defeat to George Kambosos in November 2021, Lopez claimed that one of the reasons for that split-decision loss was overstaying his time in the lightweight division.

Fast forward a few years later, and Lopez believes he did it again. The 28-year-old former undisputed 135-pound kingpin lost his Ring and WBO 140-pound belts to Shakur Stevenson via wide unanimous decision in the main event of “The Ring 6” on January 31 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Instead of remaining in the junior welterweight division, Lopez moved up seven pounds. He’ll challenge WBA belt-holder, Rolando “Rolly” Romero on August 22 in another main event DAZN will stream live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Although he’s never fought this high up in weight, Lopez (22-2, 13 KOs) is excited about how he’ll feel with the extra pounds.

“I’ll just be more comfortable in there,” Lopez said during the newest episode of the ‘Mr. Verzace Podcast’ when asked what he expects at his new weight. “I think there’s a point where if your body’s not in it, your mind won’t be as well. At junior welterweight it was great, but I think I stayed there for too long.

“I just tried to make the best fights happen. To be real, I did not need to take my previous fight, but I did it for the fans. I realize that when I do things for the fans, it nips me in the bud a little bit. I did that for Kambosos and for this one [the Stevenson fight]. When I do what I’m destined to do, it’s a lot better for me in my career. Welterweight has just been screaming out loud.”

Romero (17-2, 13 KOs) might be an underdog, but the hard-hitting North Las Vegas native upset the odds when they placed him in a similar role against Ryan Garcia in May 2025.

Romero dropped his man in the second round, before cruising to a unanimous decision in the main event of The Ring’s card at Times Square in New York.

In no way, shape, or form is Lopez overlooking Romero. However, the loquacious contender has a familiar goal in mind and is determined to achieve it.

“This is my road to undisputed once again,” Lopez said. “The first stop is Rolando Romero on August 22.”