The welterweight division continues to throw up surprises as purse bids have been called for a mandatory defence of the WBA title
Welterweight is one of boxings thriving divisions.
After Ryan Garcia (25-2, 20ko’s) dropped and dominated Mario Barrios (29-3-2, 18ko’s) in February, welterweight is now a hub for some of the biggest fights in the sport.
The current champions are Ryan Garcia (WBC), Devin Haney (WBO), Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero (WBA), and Lewis Crocker (IBF).
British star Conor Benn (24-1, 14ko’s) is on a journey back down to welterweight, and has publicly called for Ryan Garcia and Rolly Romero (17-2, 13ko’s).
Benn will fight Regis Prograis at a catchweight of 150lbs in April.
At Times Square in 2025, Romero upset the odds to defeat Ryan Garcia via unanimous decision.
Despite back and forth with Devin Haney about a unification, it seems that Romero will have his mandatory challenger enforced.
Dan Rafael via X has stated: “Letters expected to go out this week but WBO told me Sunday it will order Rolly Romero-Shakhram Giyasov purse bid for the 147 mandatory”.
Shakhram Giyasov (17-0, 10ko’s) has been patiently waiting for his opportunity at world title honours.
The talented Uzbekistani is signed to Matchroom Boxing.
He has been out of the ring close to a year now.
Giyasov’s lack of commercial draw puts him in the classic ‘who needs him’ category in boxing.
Patience may be set to pay off, and Giyasov can pose Romero with a lot of problems if the two meet in the near future.
Whether the two parties can get a deal done prior to purse bids is yet to be seen.
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