While playing Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks delivered the famous line “life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.”

The same phrase can be stated when it comes to assessing Teofimo Lopez Jr.’s career ahead of his January 31 fight against Shakur Stevenson, which headlines “The Ring 6” at Madison Square Garden in New York on DAZN.

Which version of Lopez is going to show up?

Will it be the guy who soundly beat Vasiliy Lomachenko and Josh Taylor by unanimous decisions and viciously knocked out Richard Commey? Or will it be the fighter who got dropped by George Kambosos Jr. and lost, and who got dropped by Sandor Martin and wondered “if he still had it” after he sneaked by a split decision win?

If you ask The Ring and WBO junior welterweight champion Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs), he loves the level of uncertainty that clouds him.

“Every fight is a different version of me,” Lopez said during a kickoff press conference in New York. “I love it because even the people don’t know what they are going to get from me. That’s the beauty about it. [Stevenson is] not going to know until we fight.”

Lopez is coming off a convincing unanimous decision win against Arnold Barboza Jr. in May. The win marked his fifth straight points victory, and he’s only knocked out one opponent since stopping Commey in 2019.

Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs), on the other hand, is promising that he hasn’t even reached his full potential yet as he makes his 140-pound debut with intent to become a four-division champion.

“I will be a hundred times better on fight night against Teofimo than I was against William Zepeda [during July’s unanimous decision win],” said Stevenson. “I will be faster, stronger, sharper, and on point … I can’t wait to beat this clown.

“It won’t be the type of fight he had against Vasiliy Lomachenko or Josh Taylor. That was the best he could do. I don’t think he can do anything better than that. I am way better than those guys. I didn’t see Lomachenko throw punches for six rounds. I would have beaten Lomachenko that night easily, too. That’s how I feel."

The winner of Lopez-Stevenson will move on to another legacy-defining fight in May, Turki Alalshikh announced.

If Lopez wins, it could be against Devin Haney, an opponent that was previously explored in great detail.

“When they presented the fight with Devin, a lot of things came in my way,” said Lopez. “Devin didn’t have any motion. Shakur has motion. He did his thing and looked outstanding against William Zepeda. Now it’s the perfect alignment.

“We have to get through him first. We will beat him and when it’s all said and done, my hand will be raised once again, and they will say it’s the takeover.”