Rolando Romero has been elevated to Super Champion by the WBA, but has a mandated fight in order to keep his title status.
‘Rolly’ picked up the Regular title with a win over Ryan Garcia in February 2025. He was upgraded to full champion when Jaron Ennis vacated and moved up in weight.
Romero, despite being linked with Devin Haney, Conor Benn and even Manny Pacquiao, has been inactive since. Today, the WBA has made the decision to elevate him further.
“The World Boxing Association (WBA) has officially designated Rolando “Rolly” Romero as Super World Champion. As part of the ruling, the WBA also approved the fight for the vacant welterweight world title between top-ranked contender Shakhram Giyasov and No. 6-ranked challenger Jack Catterall. The bout is scheduled to take place this Saturday, May 23, 2026, at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
“The decision was made by the WBA Championships Committee following a formal request from Romero’s team and after reviewing his accomplished run as a three-division WBA champion.”
Super champions are awarded, as per the committee’s guidelines, ‘under exceptional circumstances and in the best interest of the sport.’
Despite the rulings and orders, the situation largely does not change. Jack Catterall and Shakhram Giyasov were already fighting for the WBA ‘Regular’ belt this weekend, and with the sanctioning body’s goal of reducing the number of champions in each division to one, would have had to face Romero regardless of these new designations.
Still, it has been confirmed that ‘Rolly’ must face the winner within 180 days.
“The sanctioning body also established that Romero must face the winner of the Giyasov vs. Catterall showdown within a maximum period of 180 days after the fight takes place.”
Though the ‘Super Champion’ status has rarely been popular with fans, this ruling does give Catterall and Giyasov the chance to leave Egypt with a recognised world title.
