Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) will defend his Ring and WBO 140-pound titles against Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) on Saturday in the main event of The Ring 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York on DAZN.

For Lopez, it's another matchup in which he’s an underdog against a southpaw, this time at plus-250, according to DraftKings.

The oddsmakers expected Lopez to lose to left-handers Josh Taylor and Vasiliy Lomachenko yet he won both fights by unanimous decision.

He defeated Lomachenko to become the unified lightweight champion in 2020 and beat Taylor to become the Ring and WBO 140-pound champion in 2023. He also had less-than-spectacular wins against a pair of southpaws, a split decision over Sandor Martin and "A lot of guys, if they're good boxers but they don't have great feet, they get picked off from the outside all night long with a southpaw. Lopez has good feet, so he could get into position to let his hands go and where he can let that right hand go to the body, like he did against Lomachenko. I think that's what gives him a lot of success."

While southpaws have traditionally given orthodox fighters trouble, given their experience in such matchups, Lopez’s performances against Lomachenko and Taylor were exceptions. Bob Santos, who won The Ring’s 2022 Trainer of the Year, noted that Lopez’s physical attributes, along with his footwork, were vital against Lomachenko and Taylor.

“He's got great hand speed and good foot speed, so he's able to get in and out,” Santos told The Ring. “If you get in and out on southpaws, that's a huge difference to get in position where you’ve got to let the shots go. A lot of guys, if they're good boxers but they don't have great feet, they get picked off from the outside all night long with a southpaw.

"Lopez has good feet, so he could get into position to get those hands off and where he can let that right hand go to the body, like he did against Lomachenko. I think that's what gives him a lot of success."

Lopez built an early lead by keeping Lomachenko on the backfoot and turning with him, which kept the Ukrainian from using his angles to find openings offensively. He also closed the fight strong by landing 50 of 98 punches in the final round, which is the most any opponent landed against Lomachenko in a single round, according to CompuBox. Lopez landed 183 of 659 punches overall, including 148 of 364 power shots.

Lomachenko landed just 31 punches in the first seven rounds. Overall, he landed 141 of 321 punches, including 78 of 172 power shots. In his previous bout against Luke Campbell, Lomachenko landed 211 of 527 punches. Of the 211 punches landed, 136 were power shots.

David Coldwell, who trained former cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew and has multiple undefeated fighters from the UK in his stable, credited Lopez's success against Lomachenko and Taylor to his ring IQ.

“He's a smart fighter,” Coldwell told The Ring. “When he's in against a southpaw, he doesn't overreach. He uses his feet to get in the range. He'll use his lead hand to get into the range and to know when to throw and not to throw. He'll touch, and he'll find a home for the jab to the body, and that'll tell him where he is. He'll fire off the little tells and the little signs.

"Top-level fighters, they can adapt, whether it's southpaw or orthodox, and that’s what Teofimo is.”

After landing 11 punches in each of the first two rounds, Taylor didn’t land more than nine punches in any round for the rest of the fight. He also failed to land more than four punches in three of the final four rounds.

Taylor threw just 341 punches and only surpassed 40 punches thrown-per-round once, per CompuBox. When he defeated Jose Ramirez to become the undisputed 140-pound champion in 2021, Taylor threw 530 punches, including over 40 punches in every round except for the first. He also landed at least 10 punches in all but one round.

Against Lomachenko, Lopez landed 183 of 659 punches, including 148 of 364 power shots, per CompuBox. Lopez was more efficient with his total punches landed against Taylor, connecting with 158 of 517 punches. He more than doubled Taylor in power shots, outlanding him 138-60.

Hector Bermudez, who trains The Ring’s No. 5 welterweight Rohan Polanco (17-0, 10 KOs) and No. 2 middleweight Yoenli Hernandez (9-0, 8 KOs), credited Lopez’s success against left-handers to his approach.

“He doesn’t fight southpaws like a traditional orthodox fighter would,” Bermudez said. “He normally wins the lead hand battle. I don't know if he wins it with Shakur, but he normally does. Most orthodox fighters obsess over landing their right hand versus southpaws. I think Teofimo focuses on controlling the lead hand, and he neutralizes that big southpaw advantage. Once you lose your lead hand, you lose your exits.”

Lopez threw 295 jabs compared to 149 for Lomachenko. He was also busier with his jab against Taylor, throwing 174 compared to 147.

Stevenson, 28, is efficient with his offense, averaging 40.9 punches thrown and 15.1 landed in his last 12 fights, per CompuBox. Of his average punches landed, 11.1 are power shots.

If Lopez can also keep Stevenson below average output, it could help turn the tide in his favor, which in turn could position him for another upset victory where he was an underdog going against a southpaw.

“The question to me is if Teofimo could stay within himself and not get frustrated, because Shakur doesn't give you much,” Santos said. “He doesn't engage a lot. If Teofimo stays within himself and he doesn't get frustrated, it's a 50-50 fight.

"What Teofimo are we going to get? Are we going to get the guy who, on some nights, looks brilliant? On other nights, he looks ordinary. He's going to have to be on his A game. He's got to be on his A-plus game.”