WBA-ийн хагас дунд жингийн аварга Теофимо Лопезтой тулалдах албан ёсны шаардлага хангасан Жек Каттералл нөхөн олговор авч тулааныг хойшлуулахаас татгалзаж, аваргын бүсний төлөө хүч үзэхээ мэдэгдэв.
WBA байгууллагаас уг тулааныг албан ёсоор зарлаж, хоёр талыг аравдугаар сарын 22-ны дотор хэлэлцээрт хүрэхийг үүрэг болгосон байна. Теофимо Лопез Райан Гарсиатай нэгдсэн аваргын бүсний төлөө тулалдах сонирхолтой байгаа ч Жек Каттералл ямар ч тохиолдолд мөнгөөр тулааныг хойшлуулахгүй гэдгээ talkSPORT Boxing-д өгсөн ярилцлагадаа онцолжээ. Хэрэв Лопез энэ шаардлагыг биелүүлэхгүй бол бүсээсээ татгалзах эсвэл WBA-ийн дүрмийн дагуу албадан тулаанд орох сонголттой тулгарч байна.
Каттералл нь зай барьж, өрсөлдөгчийнхөө хэмнэлийг алдагдуулдаг тоглолтын арга барилтай тул Лопезийн хувьд хүндхэн сорилт болох төлөвтэй байна. Хэрэв хэлэлцээ амжилтгүй болбол тулааныг зохион байгуулах эрхийн төлөөх дуудлага худалдаа явагдах бөгөөд энэ нь Лопезийг гадаадын талбайд тулалдах эрсдэлд оруулж болзошгүй юм.
Одоогоор Райан Гарсиа арванхоёрдугаар сард Исаак Крузтэй тулалдахаар ярилцаж байгаа тул Лопезийн хувьд өөр тулаан төлөвлөх боломжгүй хэвээр байна. Жек Каттералл арванхоёр эсвэл нэгдүгээр сард Америкт очиж тулалдахад бэлэн байгаа бөгөөд аваргын бүсээ хамгаалах эсвэл бүсээсээ татгалзах сонголтыг Лопезийн өмнө тавиад байна.
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Teofimo Lopez wants a unification with Ryan Garcia. Jack Catterall has no interest in being paid to make room for it. The WBA welterweight champion now has a mandatory challenger who says he will fight him or take his chances with a vacant belt.
During an interview recorded before the WBA ordered the fight, Catterall was asked if he would consider step-aside money. “Under no circumstance,” he replied. “I want to fight for the belt,” Catterall told talkSPORT Boxing.
The order has since arrived, giving the two sides until October 22 to make a deal. Teofimo could try to arrange the Garcia fight and request a unification exception, but that means asking the WBA to put aside an order it has just issued. Catterall has already ruled out agreeing to a delay for a payment.
It is easy to see why Lopez prefers Garcia. Catterall is a patient southpaw who works behind his jab and punishes fighters who rush in. Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz both gave Teofimo difficult nights when they refused to fight at his pace. Catterall presents another long evening of chasing and adjusting, without the payday a Garcia fight would bring.
Lopez’s majority decision over Rolando Romero in August hardly settled questions about how effective he is at welterweight. Catterall would give him a different test: twelve rounds against a fighter comfortable slowing the action, controlling distance and making every impatient attack cost him.
There is no signed Garcia–Lopez fight waiting for clearance, either. Ryan has discussed facing Isaac Cruz in December. Teofimo would be taking a real chance if he gave up his belt to pursue a fight Ryan may make later, or with someone else.
If negotiations with Catterall fail, a purse bid could decide who promotes the mandatory. That might send Lopez abroad, though no bid or venue has been set. Vacating avoids Catterall but strips Teofimo of the title he has yet to defend, and of a useful bargaining chip in talks with Garcia.
Catterall said he would travel to America and could fight Lopez in December or January. He is offering Teofimo a way to keep the belt. He is not offering him more time to find somebody else. Catterall is in the driver’s seat. The situation gives him total control over how the division plays out, leaving him with an inevitable world title shot no matter what path Teofimo chooses.
If Teofimo decides to fight, Catterall gets a crack at the full championship against an opponent whose style plays directly into his hands. Catterall already proved he can beat aggressive counterpunchers, and he gets to test Teofimo at a weight class where the Brooklyn fighter looked completely ordinary against Romero. Teofimo cannot drag this out indefinitely because the clock is running toward that October 22 deadline. Matchroom will happily take this to a purse bid, throw down serious money, and force Teofimo to defend in a hostile arena overseas.
If Teofimo runs away and vacates, Catterall still wins. Catterall holds the regular belt, which means the WBA either elevates him directly to full champion or matches him against the next available contender for the vacant strap before the end of the year. Catterall becomes the recognized titleholder while Teofimo looks like a terrified fighter fleeing a mandatory. Teofimo trying to play delay games will fail. His team claims Gilberto Mendoza gave them private assurances weeks ago, but the sanctioning body already published the official order.
Any attempt to beg for special dispensation after the decree went public would trigger an immediate protest from Matchroom. Eddie Hearn will not allow the sanctioning body to slide a backroom deal past them without threatening legal action, especially with Catterall having already tasted betrayal in the past. Teofimo cannot even use Ryan as a shield right now. Ryan is looking toward Isaac Cruz, so there is no signed blockbuster to wave in front of the committee to justify an emergency exemption.
Catterall simply has to stay patient and let the calendar do the work. He either collects a massive career victory over an exposed champion or he picks up the world title without absorbing a single punch.
