WBO convention highlights: Teofimo Lopez, Errol Spence Jr. updates and more

With the World Boxing Organization’s (WBO) annual convention ongoing in Puerto Rico, a plethora of updates on some of the biggest names in boxing have been confirmed.

To begin with, Francisco Valcarcel stepped down on Thursday as the WBO president after almost 30 years of holding the position. Gustavo Olivieri, who has been the in-house counsel for the governing body up until now, will take his place.

TGB Promotion’s Phil Weiss requested for Errol Spence Jr., the former unified welterweight champion who hasn’t fought since a July 2023 loss to Terence Crawford, to enter the top 10 of the WBO super welterweight rankings, so TGB can make a fight between Spence and unified welterweight champion Sebastian Fundora. The petition was received well by Olivieri, who said Weiss had a “strong argument” and that the WBO’s committee would rule on the request in a couple of weeks. Given his credentials, Spence will likely enter the top 10 of the WBO, and therefore Fundora can box Spence without the risk of losing his title for fighting a contender not ranked in the division’s top 10.

News also arose about Teofimo Lopez, who won the WBO light welterweight title with a competitive decision win over Josh Taylor in June 2023. The Brooklyn native has made two voluntary defenses of his championship since then and now has to fulfill a mandatory obligation.

“We haven’t designated [who] yet because there’s still some possible scenarios that may arise to determine properly who will be the mandatory for Teo,” Olivieri said of Lopez. “We have on November 16, (Arnold) Barboza (vs. Jose) Ramirez — Barboza No. 1 (ranked by the WBO), Ramirez No. 4. [They’re] fighting, I think they’re going to do a regional title.

“Also, [Jack Catterall] just won last Saturday. Catterall, No. 2 (ranked), fighting a No. 7. We have to see what the committee [decides to] rule. We either do a eliminator/final eliminator (fight) or we just order the mandatory (for Lopez) when the mandatory comes.”

In essence, Lopez will have to fight his WBO-ordered mandatory in 2025, and that will either be against Catterall, the Barboza vs. Ramirez winner, or the victor of a final eliminator fight pitting Catterall against the winner of Barboza vs. Ramirez.

Several other news and notes from the WBO convention can be seen below.

— Olympic gold medalist and lightweight prospect Andy Cruz is set to return to the ring on Jan. 25, 2025, Matchroom Boxing’s Kevin Rooney confirmed. According to the Nevada Athletic Commission, Matchroom has a hold on The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas for that date.

— BOXXER’s Ben Shalom stated that light welterweight prospect Adam Azim, who impressed with an eighth-round knockout of Ohara Davies in October, will also fight again in January.

— Francis Warren, on behalf of Queensberry Promotions, revealed the booking of a light heavyweight fight between Willy Hutchinson and Zach Parker for Feb. 1, 2025. Hutchinson upset Craig Richards at the 5 vs. 5 card earlier this year, but lost a split decision to Joshua Buatsi for the WBO interim title at Wembley Stadium in September. Although Buatsi is the current mandatory challenger for the WBO light heavyweight title, Olivieri said they have no plans to call the mandatory anytime soon.

— The winner of the November 8 lightweight clash between Keyshawn Davis and Gustavo Lemos will likely be installed as the mandatory challenger to the WBO lightweight champion, Ukraine’s Denys Berinchyk, who upset Emanuel Navarrete to win the vacant crown in May.

“Keyshawn Davis is currently rated at No. 3,” Olivieri stated, “[He’s the] intercontinental champion. He’s fighting next week. Gustavo Lemos, that’s a tough fight. The Argentinian (Lemos), that kid can fight; he gave (Richardson) Hitchins hell. If you want to be WBO champion, you have to fight the best. Keyshawn is fighting Lemos, two top-rated guys. Most probably the winner there will be the mandatory.”

— WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr.’s bout with Derrieck Cuevas will be rescheduled for early March, Top Rank clarified to the sanctioning body.

— Queensberry revealed that the WBO interim heavyweight champion Joseph Parker and the British titlist Fabio Wardley will also return in heavyweight contests in the first quarter of 2025.