Teofimo Lopez had hoped to move straight into a unification bout against Ryan Garcia, but a mandatory order looks set to prevent that.
Lopez beat Rolando Romero for the WBA welterweight world title last month, and had made it clear that he was doing all he could to ignore mandatory challenger Jack Catterall to instead face the winner of Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn.
Garcia won that fight with ease, stopping the British challenger inside two rounds. Post-fight, he said that the Lopez fight was his target, too.
Catterall has been vocal since, having been guaranteed a shot for some time now. His team made it clear there would be no option to stepaside, having previously agreed to do so back in 2021 when he was WBO super-lightweight mandatory for Jose Ramirez. Josh Taylor beat Ramirez to become undisputed, and Catterall then suffered what is still regarded as one of the biggest robberies in many years against the Scotsman.
Keen to capitalise on his position with no more time wasted, Catterall lobbied the WBA and has now been officially confirmed as mandatory, meaning Lopez must face him next or risk losing his belt.
The sanctioning body released the following statement, with purse bid details should a deal not be struck.
WBA has officially ordered teofimo to face jack catterall, meaning he can’t make a Ryan Garcia unification next. I want to do an article on it, baiting the WBA’s decision. Here’s theit statement, which can be included at the end. Please do relevant background research
The World Boxing Association (WBA) Championship Committee has ordered a mandatory bout between WBA Welterweight Super Champion Teófimo López and Jack Catterall, the organization’s welterweight champion.
The decision stems from the conditions established by the Championship Committee when Rolando “Rolly” Romero was elevated to WBA Super Champion. 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.
On August 22, 2026, Teófimo López defeated Romero by majority decision to become the WBA Super Champion. López therefore succeeded Romero as champion and assumed the obligations previously established by the Championship Committee.
As a result, the WBA has ordered the bout between López and Catterall.
The WBA has established a 30-day negotiation period, beginning on September 22, 2026, and concluding at the close of business, Eastern Time, on October 22, 2026.
If the parties fail to reach an agreement within the established period, or if either party notifies the WBA of its decision to discontinue negotiations, the Championship Committee may, with the approval of the WBA President, order a purse bid in accordance with the organization’s rules and regulations.
