WBA Orders Teofimo Lopez to Face Jack Catterall as Lopez Questions Belt's Future
Lopez has 30 days to negotiate with his mandatory challenger but is openly weighing whether to vacate the WBA welterweight title.
Teofimo Lopez has a decision to make and he doesn't seem thrilled about it. The WBA has ordered Lopez to negotiate a mandatory defense of his welterweight super title against Jack Catterall, giving both camps until October 22 to reach terms before the fight goes to a purse bid, per Bad Left Hook.
Lopez's response was to question whether the WBA belt is worth keeping at all. His manager Keith Connolly told reporters that "we were told something different by WBA, so yes, we'll sit with Teo and decide what we will do." Lopez's camp claims WBA president Gilberto Mendoza had privately promised three weeks earlier that the Catterall mandatory would be bypassed, allowing Lopez to pursue bigger paydays, per Boxing News 24.
The timing is terrible for Lopez. He captured the WBA welterweight title by cruising past Rolando Romero on August 22, and he inherited the Catterall obligation with it. Meanwhile, Ryan Garcia, who recently stopped Conor Benn and holds the WBC belt, represents the fight Lopez actually wants. Talks for a Lopez-Garcia showdown at Madison Square Garden on February 6 have been reported, per Boxing News 24.
Catterall is not going quietly. The British southpaw, who previously stepped aside to let Lopez fight Romero, fired off a message on social media: "Hey mate, you fancy scrapping on the Fury-AJ card? If not, don't worry, I'll come to America and get my belt."
The tactical concern is real. Catterall's disciplined southpaw style, superior jab work, and distance control mirror the approaches that Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz used to give Lopez problems in the past, per Boxing News 24. A loss to Catterall would torpedo the Garcia superfight entirely.
The most likely outcomes are a lucrative step-aside deal for Catterall or Lopez simply vacating the WBA title to chase the bigger money, per Boxing News 24.
Teofimo is going to vacate. Write it down. He just won the WBA belt off Rolly, the Garcia fight at MSG in February is the one that actually pays, and Catterall is exactly the kind of disciplined southpaw who has given him fits before. Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz already showed the blueprint. Why risk the biggest payday of your career against a guy who can make you look bad for twelve rounds?
That said, Catterall deserves better than this. He stepped aside so Lopez could fight Romero, and now he is getting told the promise from the WBA president meant nothing. His social media message was funny, but the frustration underneath it is real.
The fight I actually want is Lopez against Catterall, because it is a legitimate test with a real chance of an upset. The fight we will get is Lopez against Garcia, because it sells. Catterall either takes the step-aside check or fights for a vacant belt. Business as usual.
