New world champion Jack Catterall says he feels “better than ever” and that there are “great fights to be made” should he not face Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero for the vacant WBA welterweight title.
Catterall produced one of the performances of his career to claim the vacant WBA ‘regular’ welterweight title in Egypt last month, beating Shakhram Giyasov via unanimous decision.
Romero is the WBA’s designated ‘super world champion’ and was given a maximum of 180 days from May 23 to face Catterall (33-2), although has been inactive since defeating Ryan Garcia in New York in May 2025.
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Catterall produced one of the best performances of his career as he knocked down Shakhram Giyasov and won a dominant victory on the scorecards. Highlights courtesy of DAZN and Ring Magazine
Reports have linked Romero (17-2) with a summer return and potential voluntary fight before the ordered clash with Catterall, who has been left frustrated by the delay but is open to other options.
“News is circulating now that he’s going to take a fight, an interim fight or a keep busy fight in August, which is not ideal,” Catterall told Sky Sports.
“There’s potential [for him] to get cuts, but either way I’m going to fight for that ‘super’ title. If not, I’m in a great division with a lot of big name fighters, a lot of titles.
Catterall is set to fight for the vacant WBA welterweight world title
“Nobody’s unified yet so there’s an opportunity to do that. There’s some great fights to be made.”
On who else he could possibly face instead, Catterall added: “I like the winner of [Lewis] Crocker vs Liam Paro. Conor Benn, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, Rolly Romero – I’d fight all of them whenever.
“I’ve got my piece of the puzzle now and hopefully that brings some weight to the table, but I’m confident in making these fights and winning all these fights.”
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More titles ahead for ‘better than ever’ Catterall?
Catterall has seen his career accelerate since his controversial loss to Josh Taylor in 2022, winning seven of his next eight fights – including the rematch against Taylor and last month’s win over Giyasov – to push back to world titles.
“I kind of like being the underdog,” Catterall admitted. “I’d seen a lot of predictions and we knew how good Shakhram [Giyasov] was, Olympic medallist, undefeated professional but I don’t think there was anybody who could convince me it wasn’t going to be my night.
“I never really get emotional but after the fight the emotions were shown. It’s been some journey and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. The frustrations after the first [Josh] Taylor fight then to get the rematch and not have any of the titles on the line was frustrating.
“I’ve been focused, I’ve been disciplined, I’ve stayed in the gym and I’ve worked myself back into a position to fight for the title – it has been some journey.
“I stay in the gym and this would be my message to the younger fighters – you’ve got to look after yourself. I feel at 32 better than I’ve ever felt. I’m excited for these next couple of years, to see what opportunities we can get and hopefully collect some more belts.”
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