Catterall Presses Lopez For Mandated WBA Title Shot

Jack Catterall says there is no amount of money that will persuade him to step aside for Teofimo Lopez's next fight.

Catterall holds the secondary WBA welterweight title and is Lopez's mandatory challenger after the Brooklyn fighter stopped Rolando Romero by majority decision Saturday night in Las Vegas. Lopez has said he wants to face the winner of Ryan Garcia versus Conor Benn in September, but the WBA gave him 180 days from Catterall's May 23 title win to make a mandatory defence. That deadline lands on November 19.

🎟️ Get tickets: Buy tickets to Garcia vs. Benn on Ticketmaster →

Catterall Refuses Step-Aside Money For Lopez Unification

Catterall appeared on Inside The Ring on DAZN and told Lopez directly that he must fight next or vacate. "We need to stop all this talk of undisputed and unifying," Catterall said, per The Ring. "There's not been a mandatory defense for the WBA title for about two years now. We've got to reach a deal, or else you've got to pass over the belt."

The 33-year-old British southpaw won his secondary strap with a unanimous decision over Shakhram Giyasov in Egypt. He said he was ready to fight Romero before Lopez claimed the title and is now prepared to face the new champion instead.

🎟️ Get tickets: Buy tickets to Garcia vs. Benn on Ticketmaster →

Lopez told the same show that his legal team will review the mandatory situation but that he is open to the fight. "I will fight anybody and everybody, and I think you know that," Lopez said. The 29-year-old entered The Ring's welterweight rankings at number five after Saturday. Catterall sits at number three.

Garcia defends his WBC welterweight title against Benn on September 12 at T-Mobile Arena. That bout streams on Paramount Plus in the United States and DAZN pay-per-view in the UK.

Source: ringmagazine.com