WBA orders Teofimo Lopez to face Jack Catterall next

The WBA has ordered welterweight “Super” champion Teofimo Lopez to face secondary titleholder Jack Catterall, placing the consolidation bout ahead of Lopez’s pursuit of a unification fight with WBC champion Ryan Garcia.

Lopez and Catterall have until the close of business on October 22 to reach an agreement. If no deal is struck, or either side withdraws from negotiations, the WBA Championship Committee may ask the sanctioning body’s president to approve a purse bid.

Lopez, 23-2 (13 KOs), assumed the obligation when he defeated Rolando “Rolly” Romero by majority decision on August 22. Catterall, 33-2 (14 KOs), secured his position by unanimously outpointing Shakhram Giyasov in May for the WBA’s secondary welterweight title.

“The decision stems from the conditions established by the Championship Committee when Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero was elevated to WBA Super Champion,” the WBA said. “At that time, it was determined that the winner of the WBA World Title bout between Shakhram Giyasov and Jack Catterall would subsequently face Romero, who would be permitted to make one optional defense during that period.”

Romero used that optional defence against Lopez. The WBA added: “On August 22, 2026, Teofimo Lopez defeated Romero by majority decision to become the WBA Super Champion. Lopez therefore succeeded Romero as champion and assumed the obligations previously established by the Championship Committee.”

Catterall’s route to the mandatory

The order is the latest stage of a WBA process stretching back more than two years.

Giyasov earned his position by defeating Pablo Cesar Cano in a WBA eliminator in February 2024. The sanctioning body subsequently ordered then-champion Eimantas Stanionis to face him, but Giyasov later agreed to step aside to allow Stanionis to meet Jaron “Boots” Ennis in a unification fight. The WBA stipulated that the winner would then have to face Giyasov within 120 days.

Ennis stopped Stanionis in April 2025 but ultimately moved to super-welterweight without fulfilling that obligation. Giyasov’s mandatory claim then passed to Romero, who had become WBA champion at 147lbs by beating Garcia that May.

The WBA formally ordered Romero to face Giyasov in October 2025, but the fight did not take place. Romero was instead elevated to “Super” champion in May 2026, with Giyasov ordered to face Catterall for the vacant secondary belt.

Catterall’s victory gave him the mandatory position Giyasov had spent more than two years pursuing. As part of the same ruling, Romero was required to face the winner within 180 days but was permitted one optional defence before doing so.

Lopez’s team disputed whether that requirement should carry over following his victory against Romero. His manager, Keith Connolly, said on August 29 that lawyers were examining the matter and denied that Lopez’s side had agreed to the 180-day condition.

“I have my legal team, and Teo’s legal team, working on that right now,” Connolly told The Ring last month. “I don’t wanna say too much publicly, but some people on the other side were saying that we agreed to [the 180-day ruling]. We didn’t agree to that – we were never given a contract to sign, saying that we would fight Jack Catterall next.

“We’ll talk to the WBA. We are the super champion, which comes with more privileges than being a regular champion. So, if we go out [and secure] a mega fight or unification, I think we have the right to do that. But let’s see how things play out.”

Catterall’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, maintained that the WBA had already confirmed in writing that his fighter would be next for the winner of Romero-Lopez.

“We have emails from the WBA saying Jack will fight the winner next. That is it,” Hearn said. “And I will fight like a motherfucker to make sure that that is honoured, because if we’re going to support these governing bodies in this war that’s going on at the moment, you have to play by the rules, and you have to do everything that’s fair under the rules that effectively you have written.”

The WBA’s formal order has now sided with Catterall on that point, stating that Lopez inherited the obligations attached to Romero’s title when he became champion.

The Chorley southpaw responded by inviting Lopez to meet him on a possible Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua card, while making clear that he would also travel to the United States.

Garcia unification pushed back

The ruling complicates Lopez’s plans for a unification fight with Garcia. Lopez attended Garcia’s second-round stoppage of Conor Benn at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on September 12, having also appeared at the final press conference, and Garcia called him out after the bout.

Garcia has said he wants another fight in December or January before returning for a bigger contest around Cinco de Mayo weekend. That timetable could give Lopez an opportunity to fulfil his WBA obligation first.

“I won’t call it a tune-up, but I don’t want to get off guard and wait till May to fight,” Garcia recently said of his plans to remain active.

For now, Lopez and Catterall have been instructed to reach an agreement, with a purse bid possible after October 22 if the two camps cannot agree terms.