Timothy Bradley has urged Teofimo Lopez to face one man after dethroning Rolando Romero for the WBA welterweight strap.

‘The Takeover’ became a three-division world champion last weekend, claiming a majority decision victory over ‘Rolly’ in his first outing at 147lbs.

While Romero was always dangerous, and even hurt his man in round five, it was Lopez who ultimately proved the busier and more skilful operator.

As a result, the 29-year-old is now eager to secure unification matches against either Devin Haney, Liam Paro or the winner of Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn, which takes place at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on September 12.

At the same time, though, Lopez could soon be ordered to face mandatory challenger Jack Catterall, who claimed his WBA ‘regular’ title with a unanimous decision victory over Shakhram Giyasov in May.

Before that, WBA president Gilberto Mendoza had ruled that the winner would earn his shot at the full welterweight belt within 180 days of their contest taking place.

And while, admittedly, a title defence by November 19 seems entirely unrealistic, Bradley has nonetheless expressed his desire for Lopez to face leading contender Catterall.

“Teo, you gotta face Jack Catterall next. Yeah, you gotta honour that [mandatory duty]. You just got the belt, right? You gotta defend that title against Jack Catterall.

“He’s been waiting patiently, and it’s his time and his opportunity.”

While Catterall does, indeed, appear to be in a strong position with the WBA, Lopez’ manager Keith Connolly is actively exploring a route for the American to swerve his mandatory duty and chase more lucrative opportunities.

While unsurprisingly naming Deontay Wilder as one of the hardest punchers in heavyweight history, Tyson Fury included another former opponent in his version of the all-time top 10.

‘The Gypsy King’ completed an epic trilogy with Wilder in 2021suffering two fourth-round knockdowns before halting his American foe in the 11th frame.

Their rematch, on the other hand, was far less competitive, as Fury dished out a surprisingly one-sided seven-round beatdown against the formidable knockout artist the previous year.

As for their first encounter, in 2018, Fury was once again compelled to survive two knockdowns, only to come away from Los Angeles with a controversial draw.

But while Wilder certainly made a fierce impression on the Brit, it was perhaps less apparent that Wladimir Klitschko also managed to impose his power.

The Ukrainian defended his unified crown against Fury in 2015, entering their showdown as a sizable favourite and nailed-on Hall of Famer.

It therefore came as a major upset when Fury dethroned his rivalfiddling his way to a unanimous decision victory after barely getting caught with anything significant.

Based on the shots that did land, though, the 38-year-old has told ALF Global that Klitschko should be considered among the greatest heavyweight punchers of all time.

“Wilder [was the biggest puncher]for sure. Wilder was a very big puncher – probably the biggest puncher in heavyweight history – but Wladimir Klitschko is also in the top 10 of all-time punchers – Dr Steelhammer.”

While Wilder is surely in the consensus top 10, Klitschko was more of a jab-and-grab technician and is rarely mentioned in the same power-punching context as the likes of Mike Tyson, George Foreman and Earnie Shavers.

Teofimo Lopez‘s manager Keith Connolly has revealed that he is legally pursuing an opportunity for the newly-crowned WBA champion to circumvent his mandatory duty.

‘The Takeover’ claimed his belt with a majority decision victory over Rolando Romerodethroning his countryman to become a three-division world champion last weekend.

For the most part, Lopez was in full control, other than when he was badly hurt by an overhand right in round five of their Las Vegas encounter.

Rather impressively, though, the American made a swift recovery and remained the busier fighter, returning to the win column after suffering a wide points defeat to Shakur Stevenson in January.

Now campaigning at 147lbs, Lopez has since expressed his interest in unification matches with Devin Haney, Liam Paro or the winner of Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn, which takes place at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on September 12.

At the same time, however, WBA ‘regular’ champion Jack Catterall is demanding his shot at the full title, having been promised by sanctioning body president Gilberto Mendoza that he would secure this opportunity within 180 days of his last outing.

Manager Connolly has therefore told Ring Magazine that he is attempting to leverage Lopez’ ‘super’ status and swerve a mandatory title defence against Catterall.

“I have my legal team, and Teo’s legal team, working on that right now. I don’t wanna say too much publicly, but some people on the other side were saying that we agreed to [the 180-day ruling].

“We didn’t agree to that – we were never given a contract to sign, saying that we would fight Jack Catterall next.

“We’ll talk to the WBA. We are the super champion, which comes with more privileges than being a regular champion. So, if we go out [and secure] a mega fight or unification, I think we have the right to do that. But let’s see how things play out.”

With Catterall unanimously outpointing Shakhram Giyasov for his regular title in May, the proposed deadline of November 19 – which seems unrealistic, even if Lopez is commanded to face his mandatory challenger – is now just weeks away.