Catterall believes Lopez did what he needed to do to score the majority decision and become the WBA welterweight champion on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The New York native became a three-division champion in his first fight at 147 pounds.

“I thought he looked lethargic,“ Catterall said during an appearance on “Inside The Ring,” which streamed Monday on DAZN. “It wasn't the Teo we [saw] at ‘35 or ‘40. I thought he was slow. He didn't carry the power.”

Catterall (33-2, 14 KOs) is the mandatory challenger for Lopez’s belt. The English southpaw won a secondary WBA welterweight title when he outpointed Shakhram Giyasov on May 23 in Egypt. When the WBA sanctioned Catterall-Giyasov, it ruled that Romero (17-3, 13 KOs), who had the title at the time, would face the winner within 180 days which lands on November 19.

Lopez (23-2, 13 KOs) entered The Ring’s welterweight rankings at No. 5, while Catterall is third. Lopez, 29, has his sights set on the winner of WBC champion Ryan Garcia versus Conor Benn on September 12, but Catterall is steadfast that he should be next instead.

“Teo picked up the belt, coming off a loss, so credit to Teo, but from my understanding it's 180 days from May, which takes us to November 19th,” Catterall said. “We've got to reach a deal, or else you’ve got to pass over the belt.”

Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) faces Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The card will stream on Paramount+ in the United States and DAZN via pay-per-view and its Ultimate plan in the UK and Ireland.

Lopez’s and Catterall’s paths have come close to crossing before at 140 pounds. Catterall was set to rematch Josh Taylor in March 2024 after losing a controversial split decision in February 2022, before the latter was forced to withdraw from the bout due to an injury.

Instead of immediately rescheduling the rematch, Taylor pivoted to a bout with Lopez in June 2023 because the WBO had installed him as his mandatory challenger. Lopez won a wide unanimous decision to become The Ring and WBO 140-pound champion.

Catterall faced Arnold Barboza for the vacant WBO interim 140-pound title in February 2025, but he narrowly lost a split decision. Lopez faced Barboza (33-1, 11 KOs) nearly three months later and won a one-sided unanimous decision.

“I'm not going to keep quiet,” Catterall said. “I'm going to be here shouting from the rooftops. I'm ready to fight November the 19th. We get the deal done. Let's get the fight on.”