Eddie Hearn Threatens WBA Lawsuit Over Jack Catterall Title Shot
Hearn says he will sue the WBA immediately if it lets Teofimo Lopez skip mandatory challenger Jack Catterall.
Eddie Hearn says he is ready to go to court if the WBA lets Teofimo Lopez skip his mandatory obligation to Jack Catterall.
"I would sue them immediately," Hearn said on Inside the Ring, per Boxing News 24. The Matchroom promoter was responding to the possibility that the WBA could allow Lopez to defend his welterweight belt against Ryan Garcia instead of facing Catterall, whom the sanctioning body had already designated as the mandatory challenger.
The WBA reaffirmed Catterall's mandatory status on November 11, giving both camps ten days to agree on a fight date or propose another solution. The order traces back to a resolution that was in place before Lopez won the title. When Lopez beat Rolly Romero in his welterweight debut, he inherited Romero's mandatory obligations, which included a Catterall fight.
The complication is timing. Reports indicate that Lopez's team is working to finalize a February fight with Ryan Garcia, a blockbuster matchup that could involve Garcia's WBC welterweight title. If the WBA cleared Lopez to bring its belt into that fight, Hearn could seek a court order blocking the WBA from sanctioning it as a title bout while the mandatory dispute is open.
Hearn expects Lopez to vacate if the WBA holds firm. In that case, Hearn believes the WBA would elevate Catterall, currently the secondary champion, to full titleholder status. Either way, Catterall wants the Lopez fight and has made that clear.
Eddie Hearn threatening lawsuits is basically a Tuesday in boxing, but this time he might actually have the leverage to back it up. The WBA already ordered the mandatory. The paper trail is right there. If they let Lopez waltz into a Garcia fight with the belt, Hearn's lawyers are going to have a field day.
The real play here is Lopez vacating. Everyone knows the Garcia fight is the one that prints money, and Lopez is not going to let a mandatory obligation get in the way of that payday. Catterall will probably end up as the WBA's full champion by default, which is not how any fighter wants to win a belt but puts him in a strong position for a unification down the road.
The WBA gave them ten days. I'd bet we see a resolution before the deadline, and that resolution is Lopez dropping the belt and moving on.
https://www.boxingnews24.com/2026/11/hearn-threatens-to-sue-wba-over-jack-catterall-mandatory/
