Jack Catterall’s hopes of being reinstated as the WBO ultralightweight number one contender were rejected by the organization.
In their updated rankings for March, Catterall dropped to third, Liam Paro rose to number one, Teofimo Lopez jumped to second and Jose Carlos Ramirez climbed three places to number two. private.
Catterall, who held the WBO number one spot for more than two years, was hoping to keep his rank after his performance against Josh Taylor on February 26 in the undisputed lightweight title bout of the WBO. they are in Glasgow. Taylor retained her title in a split decision to the surprise of many who gave the challenger the victory.
Jeffrey Benz Esq., Catterall’s attorney, emailed the WBO on March 14 seeking assurances that his client’s ratings would not be affected by the loss. WBO internal adviser Gustavo Olivieri Esq., responded to his advice that unless the British Boxing Supervisory Board cancels the official results of the February 26 competition the WBO cannot maintain the number one spot. by Catterall.
Following the BBBofC’s investigation into in-game scoring, their only punishment saw longtime official Ian John-Lewis (who gave Taylor a 114-111 verdict) downgraded from Grade A Star downgraded to Grade A Officer.
In their statement, the Board also said it was in contact with four governing bodies (WBO, WBC, IBF and WBA) to support Catterall becoming a mandatory contender for each title.
The WBO informed Mr. Benz that Catterall would be ‘ranked at the top of Jr.’s Welterweight division.’ The lawyer then challenged the ruling ten days later, asking for a written response and an explanation why.
Jose Carlos Ramirez, a former unification champion at 140 lbs, also sought legal advice and his attorney is Peter Aguayo, Esq. emailed the WBO questioning his client’s ratings and stated that Ramirez should in fact be in the top two.
David Berlin Esq. on behalf of Teofimo Lopez following concerns about the former lightweight number one being awarded number two in the new weight division he still has to fight for.
After a number of correspondences between the WBO and the legal teams, allowing them time to submit arguments, the governing body decided on its four new heads based on a number of factors including: amateur profiles and awards, professional profiles, honors, objection quality, TV exposure, recognition, and other related factors.
The WBO’s ruling was as follows: ‘The committee reaffirms Jack Catterall’s third place in the Jr. Welterweight Rankings.’
‘Mr. Teofimo Lopez is hereby demoted to number four in the Jr.’s Welterweight Rankings.’
‘Jose Ramirez was thus promoted to number two in the Jr.’s Welterweight Rankings.’
This makes Liam Paro the number one contender in the WBO top 10, and the Australian will now wait and see if Josh Taylor keeps the weight class or moves up to a heavier weight division to allow for the world titles. left blank.
Catterall recently signed an endorsement deal with Probellum and told Boxing Social on April 9 that he would be interested in a fight with former lightweight world champion Regis Prograis.
To read the WBO Ratings Committee Solution, visit WBO | WBO Ratings Committee Resolution – Jack Catterall, Teófimo López & José Ramirez Finalists – WBO (wboboxing.com)
