Teofimo Lopez has a Ryan Garcia payday in sight, but Jack Catterall now has a deadline and a WBA order. Lopez must negotiate a welterweight title defense against Catterall by October 22, leaving little time to keep both fights in play.

Eddie Hearn announced that the WBA had ordered immediate negotiations for Teofimo to face Catterall next. The organization’s resolution gives the fighters 30 days to reach a deal before a purse bid.

Catterall has already waited while another champion took the more appealing fight. He beat Shakhram Giyasov for the WBA’s secondary title, only to see Rolando Romero defend his top belt against Lopez. Now Catterall can demand his shot from Lopez, and asking him to step aside a second time would likely be expensive.

Lopez also has a boxing reason to dislike this order. Sandor Martin dropped him in their 2022 fight, while Jamaine Ortiz spent much of their 2024 meeting moving away and frustrating his attempts to set the pace. Catterall is another disciplined southpaw who can make Lopez lead, catch him with straight left hands and tie him up when he gets close. Lopez won both earlier fights, but neither offered an encouraging blueprint for this assignment.

The financial choice is harsher. Garcia draws an audience with or without a WBA belt, although Lopez would bring more to a unification promotion as champion. Defending against Catterall first puts that larger fight at risk. Vacating would cost Lopez his title and invite criticism, but it could protect his route to Garcia.

Hey mate @TeofimoLopez, you fancy scrapping on the furyA-J card ? If not, don’t worry, I’ll come to America and get my belt. Either way, I’ll see you soon, champ 🤝,” said Catterall on X.

A purse bid would create another concern for Lopez’s team: Matchroom could pursue the right to stage the fight in Britain. That outcome is possible, not guaranteed, and depends on who bids and how much.

Catterall does not have to accept a small payment to clear Lopez’s schedule. The October 22 deadline puts the pressure where he wants it: Lopez must make a deal, fight him, or decide how much the WBA belt is really worth.

It’s predictable what Teofimo will do next. He will almost certainly search for a way around this fight, and if that door slams shut, he will drop the WBA title rather than enter the ring with Jack Catterall. Getting into the ring with Catterall makes zero financial or strategic sense for Teofimo right now. Catterall is a nightmare-style match. He is a defensive, calculating southpaw who refuses to walk forward, ties opponents up on the inside, and fires sharp straight lefts.

Teofimo looked completely disorganized against Sandor Martin and spent twelve frustrating rounds chasing Jamaine Ortiz around the ring. Fighting Catterall offers terrible money, massive tactical risk, and a high probability of blowing an eight-figure payday. Teofimo’s first playbook will be an attempt to pay Catterall off. They will test the waters on a step-aside package. The problem is that Eddie Hearn and Catterall know they have Teofimo cornered. Catterall already stepped aside once so Romero could face Teofimo.

For Catterall to wait again while Teofimo fights Ryan, the check would have to be enormous. If Matchroom demands an unreasonable price or insists that Catterall gets his mandated shot, negotiations will grind to a halt. When that happens, expect Teofimo to vacate the strap. He will not travel to the UK for a purse bid, nor will Top Rank overpay to stage a low-drawing stylistic trap in the United States. Teofimo knows the public will buy a fight with Ryan on name recognition alone. Ryan just stopped Conor Benn in two rounds, owns the WBC belt, and brings massive commercial traction.

Ryan does not need Teofimo to hold the WBA strap to sell pay-per-views. If Teofimo drops the belt, he avoids a dangerous opponent, keeps his promotional schedule intact, and goes straight into a massive 2027 event with Ryan. Given his history of avoiding tricky stylistic operators when big money is on the table, discarding the title is the cleanest escape route he has.

Lopez’s manager Keith Connolly says his team received a different message from the WBA before the order. In a post on Xhe wrote:

“I respect everyone’s opinion, including yours @BoxeoPats, but we were told something different by WBA, so yes, we’ll sit with Teo and decide what we will do. Teo wants the biggest fights possible 💪🏻”

Connolly did not explain what the WBA had previously told them. His response leaves open whether Lopez will negotiate with Catterall or pursue another route to a Ryan Garcia fight.

Erik Morales is heralded as one of the greatest Mexican boxers of all time after becoming the first man from his country to be a four-weight world champion, and he has now named the fighter whom he believes to be the current pound-for-pound king.

Morales won his first 41 professional contests and captured the WBC and WBO super-bantamweight titles, as well as the WBC featherweight crown along the way, before suffering a defeat in a rematch with fierce rival Marco Antonio Barrera in 2002.

The Tijuana-born legend bounced back to reclaim the then-vacant WBC super-featherweight strap in the fight that followed and made two defences before moving up and capturing the WBC super-featherweight title and then the IBF belt, before losing to Barrera once again in their trilogy bout.

After overcoming Manny Pacquiao, Morales then went on to lose four straight contests – including two defeats to ‘Pac Man’ – with Morales then making the decision to retire.

After three years away, Morales made his comeback andknocked out Pablo César Cano to get his hands on the WBC super-lightweight world title in 2011 to make Mexican history – before retiring for good after two losses to Danny Garcia.

Morales has now been speaking about the current generation and in an interview with ES News he named fellow four-division conqueror and reigning undisputed super-bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue as the best fighter on the planet.

Inoue has held world honours at light flyweight, super flyweight, bantamweight and super bantamweight, with the latter two divisions seeing him also earn undisputed status.

The Japanese superstar is expected to remain on the sidelines until spring 2027, when he could collide with fellow pound-for-pound star Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez in one of boxing’s most in-demand match-ups.

David Benavidez has been told to clarify his future after the WBA requested a decision on which of his two championships he intends to continue campaigning for.

Benavidez holds WBA titles at light heavyweight and cruiserweight after becoming a champion in two divisionsleaving the sanctioning body seeking clarity over his next move.

“The WBA Championship Committee has requested David Benavidez to clarify which title he intends to continue campaigning for, following his achievement of becoming a champion in two weight classes, holding the WBA Cruiserweight and Light Heavyweight titles,” the WBA stated.

“The request seeks to maintain an orderly division and provide opportunities for contenders awaiting their chance to challenge for the championship.”

The WBA may want an answer, but Benavidez’s immediate future appears increasingly likely to remain at 200 pounds.

Benavidez Future at 200

As with most boxers through the annals of time, Benavidez is unlikely to move back down once he has settled into a higher weight class.

Benavidez also has considerably more at stake at cruiserweight.

He holds the WBA and WBO championships at 200 pounds and is due to face Michal Cieslak in December, when the WBC cruiserweight title could be added to his collection.

That leaves Benavidez potentially one fight away from putting himself in position for the undisputed crown.

Jai Opetaia is already in his sights after the pair agreed to fight following Opetaia’s victory over Noel Mikaelian.

Opetaia is also appealing his loss of the IBF cruiserweight championship and has launched a legal bid to regain the belt after being stripped earlier this year.

Should that challenge succeed, a future Benavidez-Opetaia fight could carry even greater significance.

Little Left at 175

The alternative is returning to light heavyweight, where Benavidez holds the lesser WBA title and has far fewer immediate opportunities.

Dmitry Bivol remains established at the top of the division and is expected to face Callum Smith in December, with a third fight against Artur Beterbiev still on his radar, potentially leaving Benavidez waiting for another opportunity at 175.

That makes the WBA’s request understandable from its perspective. The organization wants clarity so contenders are not left waiting for a championship opportunity that Benavidez may have little intention of defending.

For Benavidez, the decision appears considerably simpler.

With another cruiserweight title available in December and Opetaia potentially waiting beyond that, everything of immediate significance is currently at 200 pounds.

About the Author

Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.

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