 Lopez watched the fight where Rungvisai lost the title to Yota Sato at ringside in Tokyo, Japan with Elorde Jr. in March 2012.Elorde Jr. immediately contacted the WBC president José Sulaimán and reaffirmed the decision of the WBC Convention in December 2011 where Lopez was approved as a mandatory challenger for the title mentioning that he hopes that Sato would face Lopez in his first defense after three months.Although Rungvisai's promoter has held a two-fight option on Sato, Lopez's long-awaited first world title shot was decided to take place against Sato at the Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium in July 8, 2012.