Catterall demands Romero fight or vacate WBA welterweight title

Jack Catterall says Rolly Romero should either defend his WBA welterweight title within 90 days or surrender the belt altogether.

The British southpaw claimed the WBA's secondary welterweight crown with a dominant decision over Shakhram Giyasov on May 23 in Giza, Egypt, dropping the former Olympic silver medalist in the opening round and sweeping the cards. The WBA has since ordered Romero to face Catterall within 180 days, but promoter Eddie Hearn pushed for a tighter timeline — 90 days — and Catterall echoed that stance on DAZN's Inside The Ring this week.

Catterall won't wait like Giyasov did

"From my understanding, Shakhram was chasing Rolly for quite some time," Catterall said, per The Ring. "He didn't wanna fight him. We jumped at the chance to slip stream in, really, and get in that position to fight Rolly. But I made it quite clear to Sam Jones, to Eddie Hearn, that like I don't wanna be sitting, waiting about." Catterall said he dropped his WBO mandatory spot specifically to avoid a long wait. "If not, vacate the title, do whatever you've got to do," he added. "But we just want to carry on fighting, stay busy and fight all these top guys."

Giyasov never got his mandated shot at Romero and eventually took the Catterall fight instead, losing wide on all three scorecards in front of the Pyramids. Romero has not fought in 13 months, last seen upsetting Ryan Garcia in May 2025 at Times Square. His team has reportedly discussed a bout with WBO champion Devin Haney, but nothing has materialized.

Catterall said he would welcome fights with Garcia or Haney, but Romero is the priority. "Imma fly over to Vegas, box Rolly Romero, give him a boxing lesson, and then return back to the UK," he said.

Source: ringmagazine.com