The WBA has ordered Teofimo López and Jack Catterall to negotiate a mandatory welterweight championship fight, giving the two sides until October 22 to reach an agreement.
The organization’s September 22 ruling identifies López as its Super champion and Catterall as its world champion. It sets a negotiation period ending at the close of business, Eastern Time, on October 22, without announcing a fight date or venue.
The obligation originated before López won the belt. When the WBA elevated Rolando Romero to Super champion, it required him to face the winner of Catterall’s title fight against Shakhram Giyasov, while allowing Romero one optional defense during that process.
López beat Romero by majority decision on August 22 and assumed the same obligations, the WBA said. The change of champion therefore left Catterall’s mandatory claim in place.
The Romero victory made López a world champion in a third weight division. He won at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with scores of 115–113 and 116–112, while the remaining judge scored the contest 114–114, according to Premier Boxing Champions’ official report.
López fought through a cut above his right eye after Romero hurt him during the fifth round. PBC’s report described the challenger recovering from that exchange and using his movement to restrict Romero’s opportunities over the remaining rounds.
CompuBox figures cited in that report credited López with 124 landed punches to Romero’s 73, including 62 jabs. Romero also caught López with a left hook late in the 11th round before the contest reached the scorecards.
“I just had to stay busy and keep my range against a strong puncher,” López said after the victory, according to PBC.
If negotiations fail, or either party tells the WBA it has stopped negotiating, the championship committee may order a purse bid with the president’s approval. The notice leaves that decision conditional on what happens during negotiations.
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This page is an original Sporting Page summary. The reporting remains with World Boxing Association / Premier Boxing Champions.
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