Matchroom has sent another legal letter to the WBA demanding that Teofimo Lopez defend against Jack Catterall next. Eddie Hearn argues that Lopez inherited Rolando Romero’s mandatory obligation after defeating him and should not receive permission to sit idle until May for a clash with Ryan Garcia.
Catterall earned his spot by defeating Shakhram Giyasov on May 23 in an eliminator tied directly to the WBA welterweight title. Romero received special permission to face Teofimo first, with the condition that the winner satisfy the mandatory defense. Lopez now holds the belt along with the commitment Matchroom insists travels with it.
“We’ve sent another legal letter to the WBA,” Hearn told The Stomping Ground. “There was an order for the winner of Shakhram Giyasov against Jack Catterall to fight Rolly Romero. Rolly Romero was allowed an interim fight, which was Teofimo Lopez, and obviously that obligation now falls on Teofimo Lopez. They’re talking about Teofimo Lopez now fighting Ryan Garcia in May. Well, that’s nine months away. Let’s get this fight ordered. Teofimo Lopez against Jack Catterall.”
The WBA previously gave the champion a 180-day window to face the Catterall-Giyasov winner. That deadline lands around November 19, providing Matchroom with a documented resolution to anchor its legal challenge.
Commercially, Teofimo has very little incentive to cooperate. Meeting Ryan Garcia in the spring offers massive global interest and a purse that dwarfed anything Catterall can generate. While holding the WBA belt aids Teofimo at the negotiating table, Ryan brings immense box-office clout on his own and does not need sanctioning body hardware to sell pay-per-views.
Teofimo is making his intentions impossible to miss. Crashing the press conference in disguise, sitting ringside, and trying to storm the ring for a post-fight confrontation with Ryan Garcia shows where his head is at. He wants the massive commercial spectacle, not a disciplined, low-reward scrap with Jack Catterall that he might lose. A loss to Catterall would destroy Teofimo’s hopes of a Ryan Garcia fight.
The WBA now finds itself in a familiar situation. The organization authorized the condition, granted Romero leeway to face Lopez, and must decide whether to hold its new champion accountable or grant another exception for a blockbuster. Ordering the mandatory is standard procedure. Enforcing it against a marquee fighter eyeing a career-high payday presents the real difficulty.
Style makes Catterall even less attractive as a mandatory contest. The slick British southpaw relies on disciplined positioning, sharp counter-punching, and patience that regularly frustrates aggressive fighters. Teofimo has repeatedly labored when forced to lead against negative, safety-first tacticians.
If the WBA yields and permits Lopez to shelve the title until May, Hearn’s legal push will once again demonstrate how quickly mandatory status evaporates when a bigger purse enters the picture.
The WBA’s silence is typical sanctioning body behavior whenever a massive event enters the picture. Gilberto Mendoza can send emails or post commitments on social media, but until the championship committee formally issues a signed resolution with strict purse bid deadlines, those statements are completely hollow. Sanctioning bodies love the concept of mandatories right up until a unification or crossover event worth millions in sanctioning fees lands on their doorstep.
Catterall did everything required by beating Shakhram Giyasov in an official eliminator, but boxing politics rarely reward merit over revenue. The WBA’s current silence simply buys them time. They are likely waiting to see if Garcia versus Lopez can actually be finalized before deciding whether to officially order Catterall or look for a convenient loophole to grant Teofimo a unification exception.
If Teofimo and Garcia strike a deal, the WBA will probably try to pressure Catterall into accepting step-aside money or offer him another interim defense to keep him quiet. Catterall has already said in interviews and on X that he will not accept a single dollar to step aside, especially after getting burned in the past when waiting his turn.
Until Matchroom’s legal pressure forces Mendoza to put something in writing, Teofimo is going to continue treating Catterall like an inconvenience while chasing the biggest payday at 147.
