In a rare bout of conscience that I’m sure must have felt like passing a kidney stone for them, the WBA has officially ordered welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez to fight mandatory challenger Jack Catterall, giving the pair 10 days to come to terms or face a purse bid.
Per the ruling, Rolly Romero’s upgrade to “super” champion in May came with the stipulation that Romero face the winner of Catterall’s (33-2, 14 KO) clash with “world” champion Shakhram Giyasov within 180 days. Three months after “El
Gato” defeated Giyasov, Lopez (23-2, 13 KO) toppled Romero and “inherited the obligations previously established for the title, including the mandatory defense against Catterall.”
Rather than negotiate with Catterall, Lopez and his team “expressed their disagreement with the obligation to face the British challenger” and requested “reconsideration.” The WBA declined, noting that “as of the date of this decision, Lopez’s team had not submitted a formal request for special permission to pursue a unification bout.” Per Chris Mannix, Lopez’s team will appeal and had submitted a request to fight Ryan Garcia on November 5th.
Frankly, Lopez needs to fight Catterall or vacate. The WBA mandatory was hideously overdue, with Giyasov waiting literal years for his shot. Lopez has had months to negotiate with Garcia and nothing has come of it.
If the appeal fails the way it should, we can likely expect “The Takeover” to ditch his belt, as Catterall presents the same sort of tricksy style that bedeviled Lopez against Sandor Martin and other clever southpaws. Should that happen, Raul Curiel sits at the top of the rankings and would presumably get the call instead.
