Lopez ordered to defend world title v Catterall

Teofimo Lopez has been ordered to defend his WBA world title against Briton Jack Catterall.Lopez became the WBA 'super' welterweight champion with a points win over Rolando Romero last month.Catterall, 33, is Lopez's mandatory challenger but the American has been campaigning to fight WBC champion Ryan Garcia in a unification bout instead.The WBA has now announced they expect Lopez to fight Catterall next, and the two parties have until 22 October to reach an agreement or there will be a purse bid.Catterall became the number one challenger and WBA 'regular' title-holder after beating Shakhram Giyasov in May.He acknowledged the WBA's ruling on X, saying: "Hi Teofimo Lopez."The Chorley native last fought for a world title in 2022 when he was controversially beaten by then undisputed light-welterweight champion Josh Taylor.Lopez, a three-weight world champion, could withdraw from negotiations and relinquish his world title, which may lead to Catterall being upgraded to world champion.Lopez attended the Garcia v Conor Benn fight week in Las Vegas earlier this month and was stopped from entering the ring after Garcia's quick win.Catterall has just two defeats on his record - to Taylor and American Arnold Barboza Jr - with 33 wins and 14 stoppages.Lopez, 29, also has two losses during his career, a 2021 points loss to George Kambosos Jr and more recently a decision defeat by Shakur Stevenson in January.