Shakur Stevenson kept calling out the competition. Teofimo Lopez Jr. finally answered.

After years of yearning for a career-defining fight, Stevenson finally got the mega matchup he was looking for, and now he’ll meet The Ring and WBO junior welterweight champion Lopez on January 31 to headline The Ring 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

“I've been thinking about fighting him since the amateurs,” Stevenson said during a recent face-to-face conversation with Lopez on DAZN. “I admired the type of boxer he was. He had the skillset to shine. I wanted to see myself against that. … If you look in and around my weight class, I can't get the other fighters to get in the ring.”

As he became a 126-, 130- and 135-pound champion, Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) started screaming from the mountaintops calling for clashes against the likes of Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia and Vasiliy Lomachenko.

But he could lure none of them into the ring. Instead, Stevenson had to settle for a group that’s headlined with wins against William Zepeda, Josh Padley, Robson Conceicao, Oscar Valdez and Jamel Herring.

“A lot of people didn't give me the opportunity to show [my] greatness,” said Stevenson. “A lot of fighters either ducked or found the business way not to get in front of me. Teo gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. I've been building my career, and the moment has come. Teofimo was willing to do it, and now we're here. I'm turned up. Let's go get it.

“I fight whatever style is needed to win. I hope they expect a better version of me on fight night. I want to prove how great I am. After I get out of the ring, I want everyone to talk about how I am that guy. I am coming to put on a show.”

Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs), who has a history of taking on tough challenges, as evidenced by his victories over Lomachenko and Josh Taylor, proved to be an exception.

Now, the underdog Lopez is ready to “break the bank” and give Stevenson a “rude awakening.”

“It's the best fighting the best. You see Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez fighting each other, and you want to emulate that,” said Lopez. “Shakur is a great fighter. We can't say we are the best and not test it. My goal is to defend my throne. I can’t call it ‘the takeover’ and have someone take it over.”