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WBO Orders Teofimo Lopez To Face Winner Catterall-Barboza

WBO Orders Teofimo Lopez To Face Winner Catterall-Barboza featured image
Teofimo Lopez has been ordered by the WBO to defend his title in a mandatory title defense after more than 18 months of engaging in two voluntary title defenses. (Photo by Bill Tompkins/Getty Images)

Teofimo Lopez has finally been ordered by the WBO to fulfill a mandatory title defense after first obtaining his WBO super lightweight title last year following a victory over Josh Taylor in 2023. Since then, Lopez defended his title twice, both voluntary defenses, but it appears the WBO has now decided to enforce its rules which require an active champion to periodically defend their belt against a mandated opponent.

The WBO World Championship Committee, a branch of the WBO responsible for issuing mandatory bouts, has decided to order Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KO’s) to face the winner between super lightweight (140 lbs) contenders Jack Catterall (30-1, 13 KO’s) and Arnold Barboza Jr. (31-0, 11 KO’s). The two fighters, who respectively hail from the UK and the USA, are currently set battle it out on February 15 with the winner set to become the WBO mandatory of the 140-pound division.

According to a letter obtained by Boxing Vault sent to Lopez’ representatives, the WBO clarified their decision by explaining how Teofimo Lopez’ “WBO Super Champion” status afforded him the right to stage a mandatory defense over a period of 18 months. Lopez first won the WBO title in June of 2023, and by December of last year the window for him to defend his mandatory title passed. Being the American champion is now at least a month overdue for a mandatory defense, the WBO has officially initiated the process to find Lopez’ next mandatory challenger. The winner is also set to attain the WBO interim title.

As the WBO’s rules expand on, a failure or refusal to face the upcoming winner between Catterall-Barboza will see Lopez stripped of his WBO title. This further means there will be no room for Lopez to fight another opponent in the interim, with there being little time for him to prepare for a match by or around February 15, which is due for around two weeks.

The latest rumors had Teofimo Lopez tipped to fight in March―and further included now-debunked reports of him facing former IBF 140-pound champion Subriel Matias (21-2, 21 KO’s), but these plans now appear scrapped following the WBO’s mandate.

The WBO’s order appears to continue to reflect their desire to stimulate competitiveness within the sport, with whoever comes out on top in the Catterall-Barboza bout highly likely to become considered one of the―if not the best―contender in the super lightweight division. Given the quality of both fighters, Lopez might come face-to-face with his toughest opponent since he defeated Vasyl Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KO’s) in 2020 to become a unified lightweight (135 lbs) champion.

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