Jack Catterall has publicly challenged WBA welterweight champion Rolly Romero after reports emerged that Romero could take a voluntary fight before making his ordered title defense against the British contender.
Catterall won the WBA International welterweight title with a unanimous decision over Shakhram Giyasov at the Glory in Giza event on May 23, which led the WBA to match him with Romero for the championship.
More than 12 months have passed since Romero won the WBA title by defeating Ryan Garcia in May 2025 without making a defense.
Reports from The Ring’s Mike Coppinger suggest Romero could be lined up for a summer return against a voluntary opponent rather than immediately facing Catterall. Catterall made his frustration clear on social media, signaling he views himself as the rightful next challenger given the WBA’s directive.
No agreement has been announced between the two camps.
Ryan Garcia has suggested his next fight will take place on September 12 in Las Vegas and strongly hinted his opponent will be Conor Benn of England.
Garcia made the declaration during a live stream with rapper 6ix9ine, stopping short of a formal announcement but leaving little ambiguity.
“My next fight is September 12. I can’t announce it yet, but there are some people from the UK that need an ass-whooping. The guy I might fight next is from the UK. It’s gonna be in Vegas at T-Mobile. You hear that, Conor Bum? My guy is gonna walk me out. Go get a goofy from England to walk you out.”
Benn’s manager Keith Connelly confirmed to Boxing News that negotiations between the two camps are ongoing, while stopping short of calling the fight done.
“We’re in the middle of negotiating, along with some other big fights. I could see it happening, I could see it falling apart, but we’re targeting that fight right now. I think that’s a great fight for both guys. It’ll be a massive fight if it’s over here and it’ll be a massive fight if it’s in Vegas. It’s a sellout wherever it goes. I think we’ll know in the next couple of weeks where we’re headed, but that’s definitely the fight that we want.”
Garcia, 25-2, won the WBC welterweight title in February by outpointing Mario Barrios over 12 rounds. Benn, who recently signed an extension with Zuffa Boxing, sits first in the WBC’s 147-pound rankings despite not having competed at welterweight since 2022. He last fought in April, outpointing Regis Prograis. September 12 is the same date as Canelo Alvarez’s fight with Christian Mbilli in Riyadh, suggesting Turki Alalshikh may be orchestrating another split international event.
Conor Benn did not need much time to answer when Stephen A. Smith pressed him on which fight he wants next.
“Garcia.”
Sitting alongside Dana White on ESPN’s First Take on Friday, Benn cut through the diplomatic preamble and made his priority clear. The newly signed Zuffa Boxing fighter had walked through the procedural path toward a WBC welterweight title shot before Smith cornered him on a name, and the answer was immediate.
“We’re going to try to get the WBC world title. I’m mandatory for that shot. I’ve worked hard to get there,” Benn said. “But I’m open to options. There’s plenty of fighters calling me out. Whatever fight the public wants, they can get.”
He also explained the broader motivation behind signing with Zuffa and pursuing the biggest available matchups. “I’m here because I want to make the biggest fights possible. I want to make the most memorable nights in boxing, the ones where people go, ‘What a fight. What a night.’ Something to remember. History made, legacy made. That’s why I’m here.”
Benn sits as the WBC mandatory challenger at welterweight, putting him in direct line for a shot at Ryan Garcia, who holds the WBC welterweight title after his victory over Mario Barrios earlier this year. With Benn now signed to Zuffa and Oscar De La Hoya pushing Garcia toward a world champion opponent next, both fighters are under promotions aligned on making the bout happen. Early reporting has pointed toward an August date on Netflix, though nothing has been officially announced.
Benn’s Zuffa deal runs five fights over 2.5 years, meaning Garcia would be the first of multiple marquee outings. With Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney also circling at welterweight, Benn made clear on Friday which name sits at the top of his list.
Boxing’s cultural fear of losing was the dominant topic when Conor Benn and Dana White sat down with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s First Take on Friday, and all three had something pointed to say about how the sport arrived at this problem and what it would take to fix it.
Smith set the stage by comparing boxing’s modern attitude toward losses with the generation that built the sport into a mainstream institution. “Unlike the UFC, where you could be great and have three or four losses, in boxing you have two, everybody’s having a heart attack and acting like you ain’t a top fighter in the world. Sugar Ray had losses. Tommy Hearns had losses. Mike Tyson had losses. But it didn’t stop them from being great.”
Benn, whose lone career defeat came against Chris Eubank Jr. in their first meeting before he won the rematch, traced the shift to one fighter who fundamentally changed how the sport was marketed.
“I feel like it changed with Mayweather when he came along and it was the undefeated record. Everyone was scared of losing,” Benn said. “Ultimately, I’d rather lose an exciting fight than win a boring fight, because then it’s like, did you even win?”
He framed his own commitment in terms that put fan value ahead of personal record preservation. “I just want to give people value for money. I want people to want to tune into a Conor Benn fight, win, lose, or draw. I fight with my heart on my sleeve and they’re getting everything I’ve got. I pour my soul into my fights and I give them every shot I have.”
White’s structural answer to the problem is the model he built in MMA: roster depth. The UFC framework allows fans to invest in a card rather than a single fight, making one loss a chapter rather than a career-ender.
“We’re starting to build a roster of guys now. In the UFC, you can have the main event, the co-main. Sometimes the fans are more excited about the undercard fights,” White said. “There hasn’t been a middle class in boxing in a long time, and that’s what we’re going to bring. When the best fight the best, not every fight’s going to be the greatest fight you’ve ever seen, but people want to see good fights. A loss doesn’t mean you’re done.”
Smith closed the segment with a simple blueprint for what Zuffa Boxing needs to execute on the vision. “Two ingredients to success for Zuffa Boxing: Number one, more guys with his attitude in your stable. Number two, two to three main events a year, mega fights.”
Conor Benn is staying with Zuffa Boxing. Dana White’s promotion announced Friday that Benn has signed a five-fight deal covering the next two and a half years, with the news breaking as both men sat down with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s First Take live from Las Vegas.
The deal ends a week of speculation after Benn’s April 11 unanimous decision over Regis Prograis at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. That fight, the co-feature to Tyson Fury’s Netflix comeback against Arslanbek Makhmudov, was a one-off. Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) emerged from it a free agent with every major promoter circling.
CONOR BENN IS BACK 🥊
It’s official! @ConorNigel has signed a NEW deal with Zuffa Boxing!
He picked Zuffa. And his reasoning on First Take pointed straight at the parent company’s track record.
“You look at what they’ve done with UFC. Look what they’ve done with WWE. They plan on taking over and we all share the same vision,” Benn said. “It’s a different audience, a massive platform, and something I’m really excited about. It wasn’t an easy decision, but I’ve made the right decision and it feels right in my heart.”
“There’s no ‘I’ in team. I don’t do things on my own, I do things with my team. We all share the same vision; that’s a must,” Benn said. “We’ve got a long-term plan and no doubt we’ll execute it. My job is to stay in the gym, give 100% in training, and let the team allow me to fully focus on being the best fighter I can be and deliver entertainment to the public.”
Five fights across 30 months works out to roughly one appearance every six months, a cadence consistent with Zuffa’s repeated emphasis on keeping its boxers active rather than letting them disappear between paydays.
White’s Global Platform Pitch
White made clear the selling point for Zuffa’s roster is distribution as much as money. TKO’s pending Warner Bros. merger is projected to add 200 million homes. The recently announced Sky deal expands European reach, and Zuffa is already airing in more than 90 countries less than six months into its boxing operation.
“When you’re a professional fighter, obviously making as much money as you can during your short window of opportunity is important, but you want as many people around the world to see the things that you’ve done, too,” White said. “That’s just as important as the money.”
Shakur Stevenson is not impressed with Conor Benn, and he wants to prove it in the ring.
After Benn’s unanimous decision victory over Regis Prograis at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, WBO super lightweight champion Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs) took aim at the British welterweight in an interview with Ariel Helwani. Stevenson had just dominated Teofimo Lopez on the same Netflix card and used his post-fight platform to call Benn out directly.
“There’s a fighter in here right now, and he motivated me, too,” Stevenson said from the ring after his win. “Where’s Conor Benn? Hey Conor Benn, we can get it banging, boy.”
Stevenson continued:
“I’ve been told y’all I’m better than him. I’ve been told y’all he’s not on my level. I’ve been told y’all that his skills is not up to par with mine. Like I said, if he’s ready to fight, tell him to stop going on social media and making up lies, saying that I said, ‘Oh, I won’t fight that weight class.’ I said I will. I said, with a rehydration clause, because he did it to Eubank. He’s not on my level. I’ve been said this, and I will beat the holy sh*t out of Conor Benn.”
Benn Fires Back
Conor Benn has scoffed at the idea that Stevenson at his level.
Back in January, following Shakur Stevenson’s decisive win over Teofimo Lopez, Stevenson called out Benn, who was ringside. “You’re too small for me, boy,” Benn repelied. “You’re tiny, bro. You can’t punch. You can’t keep me off you. I’ll fuck you up. I’ll put you down.”
The exchange sets up an intriguing potential matchup between two of boxing’s most prominent young fighters. Stevenson holds the WBO belt at 140 pounds and has been looking for signature fights after his dominant win over Lopez. Benn, now a free agent at 29, is operating at 150 pounds and plans to campaign at welterweight going forward.
Still, Stevenson’s willingness to call out a bigger man speaks to his confidence after a career-best performance against Lopez.
For now, Benn appears locked in on Garcia for a September WBC title fight. But if that matchup stalls in negotiations, Stevenson’s name will remain in the conversation as a high-profile alternative.
Conor Benn is a free agent with one name on his lips: Ryan Garcia.
Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) defeated former two-time junior welterweight champion Regis Prograis (30-4, 24 KOs) by unanimous decision on Saturday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. All three judges scored the bout 98-92 in Benn’s favor in a 10-round catchweight contest at 150 pounds.
The fight was Benn’s first under the Zuffa Boxing banner after his split from Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing earlier this year. He completed a one-fight deal reportedly worth upwards of $10 million and is now free to negotiate with any promoter, though Zuffa is expected to be the frontrunner moving forward.
Benn Calls for September Showdown
Benn wasted no time calling out WBC welterweight champion Garcia after the fight. “Garcia, I want my belt! Keep my belt warm,” Benn said. “September. Let’s go. Any day of the week. Twice on Sundays. 10 rounds, easy. Garcia, you’re next.”
Garcia, who won the WBC title with a decision over Mario Barrios in February, responded on social media the same night. “I’m down. Garcia vs. Benn. Let’s do it!” Garcia wrote.
The 29-year-old Benn plans to return to 147 pounds for the fight after competing above the welterweight limit in his last three bouts, including two middleweight fights against Chris Eubank Jr. He was back in the gym by Monday morning, posting a treadmill video with visible swelling around both eyes from accidental head clashes during the Prograis fight. He indicated he would be ready to fight by July or August.
Prograis Retires After the Loss
Prograis, 37, announced his retirement in an interview with Ring Magazine after the fight. The loss was his third in four outings since losing the WBC junior welterweight title to Devin Haney in 2023.
Benn controlled the early rounds with his jab and movement before Prograis found some success in the middle rounds as accidental head clashes opened cuts around both of Benn’s eyes. Benn dug deep with body work in the championship rounds and swept the final five rounds to secure the decision.
With Benn now positioned as the WBC mandatory challenger at welterweight, the Garcia fight carries both a title and a massive commercial draw on both sides of the Atlantic. Other potential opponents include Devin Haney, Shakur Stevenson, and Rolando Romero, but Benn has made clear that the WBC belt is his only priority.
WBC Welterweight World Champion Ryan Garcia recently named the fighter he considers the most overrated in boxing. He declared the surrounding hype to be premature. He shared his opinion in a recent statement that has sparked debate among boxing fans.
Garcia’s path to world championship status took over five years after he knocked out Luke Campbell for the WBC Interim lightweight title in January 2021. He finally claimed full world honors earlier this year, giving him a unique perspective on the sport’s landscape and which fighters deserve their reputations.
Garcia’s Assessment of Boxing’s Current Stars
The welterweight champion did not hold back in his assessment. Speaking on the Creators Think Podcast, he was asked to name the most ‘horribly overrated’ active boxer. Garcia looked upwards toward the super-welterweight division and namedJaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
“Horribly overrated? Today, I would say ‘Boots’ Ennis. I know that I have said that before on a stream and got some hate but, at this point where they are hyping up like he is the next everything, I think it’s a little premature and [that he is] overrated.”
Ennis has held the unified IBF and WBA welterweight world title. However, he moved up to 154lbs late last year and knocked out Uisma Lima upon his debut in the division.
At the end of June, the ‘Boots’ is set to challenge for the unified WBA and WBO super-welterweight titles against the youngest unified champion in boxing, Puerto Rico’s Xander Zayas.
Ryan Garcia is targeting a return to the ring in July with plans to pursue a welterweight unification bout. The WBA welterweight champion, who holds an undefeated 24-0 record with 13 knockouts, is aiming to add another world title to his collection just months after claiming his first belt.
Garcia has set his sights on challenging for another welterweight championship as soon as this summer. The Californian boxer’s ambitions come on the heels of his recent world title victory, which established him as a major player in the 147-pound division.
Now, Garcia has taken to X to provide Haney with a more lucrative unification opportunity, offering to fight ‘The Dream for a second time in July.
Ryan Garcia: “Devin is terrified.”
Devin Haney: “You scared to death to sign up for drug testing. I told Turki [Al-Alshikh] let’s do it. Get u signed up for drug testing.”
Ryan Garcia: “Devin I’ll fight you in July! Stop saying drug testing, dumba*s POKE ME YOURSELF.”
Devin Haney: “He wanna fight in July cause he still cycling those PEDS. September & start drug testing now.”
Garcia’s unification plans could lead him to face one of the other welterweight titleholders. Sebastian Fundora currently holds the WBC welterweight title with a 23-1-1 record and 15 knockouts, while Josh Kelly possesses the IBF strap with an 18-1-1 record and 9 knockouts. Xander Zayas, who holds the WBA title alongside Garcia in the division’s split championship structure, carries a 23-0 record with 13 knockouts.
A July timeline would give Garcia approximately three months to finalize an opponent and complete training camp. Garcia’s team has not yet announced a specific opponent or venue for the proposed summer bout.
Shakhram Giyasov (17-0, 10 KOs) recently called out Ryan Garcia following the announcement that Devin Haney (33-0, 15 KOs), the WBO welterweight champion, will face Rolando “Rolly” Romero (17-2, 13 KOs), the WBA welterweight champion.
The Haney vs. Romero welterweight unification fight is in a late ‘serious’ stage for May 30th in Las Vegas.
With Haney’s next fight mapped out, Ryan Garcia, who is the WBC welterweight champion after defeating Mario Barrios on February 21, is left without a confirmed opponent.
Giyasov, reacting to Garcia’s recent win over Mario Barrios, praised the performance and made it clear he wants a future meeting between the two.
