Eddie Hearn says the WBA is expected to order a title fight between Rolly Romero and mandatory challenger Jack Catterall, though uncertainty remains over whether Romero will take an interim fight first.
Hearn spoke on the Mr. Versace podcast, making clear that Matchroom intends to push for the mandatory defense to happen.
It’s going to be ordered, but it’s just whether Rolly has a fight in between. The order is upon him to fight Jack Catterall, and we’ll be pushing to make that happen.
Hearn acknowledged that Catterall represents a genuinely dangerous assignment for any welterweight champion, which may explain Romero’s reluctance.
Jack Catterall is really good. If you’re Rolly, you don’t really want to risk it all against Jack Catterall. You want to take a bigger money fight with probably the same risk.
Catterall secured his mandatory position by defeating Shakhram Giyasov for the WBA welterweight title. The WBA had previously outlined plans for Romero to face the winner within a 180-day window, though no official fight has been announced. Romero has been linked to bigger-money opportunities involving Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia as alternatives to the Catterall defense.
