The WBA reaffirms Teofimo Lopez’s mandatory title defense against Jack Catterall – World Boxing Association

The World Boxing Association (WBA) has issued its decision regarding the request for reconsideration submitted by American Teofimo Lopez’s team, reaffirming that the reigning WBA Welterweight Super Champion must face mandatory challenger and world champion Jack Catterall, in a resolution issued on Wednesday, November 11.

The Championships Committee has upheld the order for the mandatory bout following an extensive review of the situation and recent developments. New conditions have been established, and a 10-calendar-day period has been granted for both parties to reach an agreement on a fight date or propose an alternative solution to resolve their differences.

The situation stems from the resolution issued on May 20, 2026, when the WBA elevated Rolando Romero to Welterweight Super Champion status and approved a bout for the vacant WBA Welterweight World Championship between Shakhram Giyasov, who was ranked No. 1 at the time, and Jack Catterall, then ranked No. 6. That resolution stipulated that Romero would have to face the winner of the bout within 180 days.

Catterall defeated Giyasov on May 23 to capture the WBA Welterweight World Championship. Subsequently, on August 22, Teofimo Lopez defeated Romero in a voluntary title defense and became the WBA Super Champion.

Following that result, the American inherited the obligations previously established for the title, including the mandatory defense against Catterall.

On September 22, the WBA ordered a 30-day negotiation period to finalize the bout. However, the deadline expired on October 22 without an agreement, and Lopez’s representatives expressed their disagreement with the obligation to face the British challenger.

In response, Lopez’s team formally submitted a request for reconsideration on October 2, while Matchroom Boxing, Catterall’s promoter, defended the validity of the order and requested that the British fighter’s right to a mandatory championship opportunity be upheld.

After reviewing the arguments and documents submitted by both parties, the WBA based its decision on Rule C.17 of its regulations, which grants the Presidency and the Championships Committee the authority to establish the criteria, conditions, and requirements for the defense and retention of a Super Championship, including mandatory obligations.

The resolution also clarifies that unification bouts with other sanctioning bodies may be considered through a special permit, as provided under Rule C.39. However, as of the date of this decision, Lopez’s team had not submitted a formal request for special permission to pursue a unification bout.

Consequently, the WBA reaffirmed that the Super Champion must fulfill his mandatory defense against the mandatory challenger, while acknowledging the need to establish a new timetable since the original deadlines have expired.

10 days to reach an agreement

As part of its directives, the WBA has requested that representatives for Lopez and Catterall resume negotiations and submit, within a maximum of 10 days from the issuance of the resolution, an agreement that would allow the mandatory bout to take place on a date acceptable to both parties. They may also propose an alternative solution to resolve the differences between them.

If no agreement is submitted within that period, or if either party decides not to participate in the negotiations, either side may request that a purse bid be called in accordance with the organization’s regulations.