Since dropping the IBF belt to Angelo Leo in August 2024, Lopez has quietly put together two wins. The latest came on December 13 in Mexicali, where he stopped Miguel Arevalo Mejia in three rounds. It was not subtle. It was not elegant. It was violent and efficient, the kind of performance designed less for highlights than for reassurance. Mostly his own.
Lopez said the layoff weighed on him. Nearly nine months passed between fights. He trained hard because he felt he had to. Coming back to his hometown mattered. So did showing he still belonged on serious cards, the kind that eventually point toward belts rather than apologies.
His manager, Kiki Magaña, framed the rebound in simpler terms. Mentality. After a rough loss, Lopez went back to work instead of sideways. The belief inside the team is that 2026 can still look very different from 2024, provided the right doors open and Lopez keeps kicking them.
One of those doors never moved. Lopez openly chased a fight with fellow Mexican champion Rafael Espinoza, the WBO titleholder at 126. Espinoza went elsewhere, defending his belt against Arnold Khegai and stopping him in eleven rounds. Lopez admitted the disappointment. He believed that fight would have delivered something raw and familiar, the kind of national collision boxing still pretends it wants.
That choice did not end Lopez’s ambition. He is now casting wider. Every champion at 126. Every champion at 130. His stated goal is simple. Become a two time world champion in 2026.
For now, the plan is rest for a few days, then straight back to the gym. No speeches. No pivots. Just repetition.
The honest read is this. Lopez looks like a fighter who knows the window has narrowed and is trying to punch it back open before it shuts for good.
Reporting context based on an interview originally published by The Ring.
