The World Boxing Organization (WBO) has confirmed that it will soon address vacant titles in the junior welterweight and junior middleweight divisions. This action follows Teofimo Lopez’s recent decision to vacate his 140-pound title and retire, a mere five days after the WBO celebrated his championship win.
In addition to this, the WBO will also discuss the future of the junior middleweight title. This comes on the back of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez's recent announcement to defend his title against Jermell Charlo, the current undisputed junior middleweight champion, catching many, including the WBO, by surprise.
Charlo’s move to fight Alvarez could cost him his title at 154, which he was scheduled to defend against Tim Tszyu. With this unexpected turn of events, Tszyu is likely to be upgraded to full WBO titlist.
The WBO is now tasked with arranging a fight for the 140-pound belt left vacant by Lopez. The leading contenders are Arnold Barboza Jr. and former titleholder Jose Ramirez Jr. The WBO will proceed to crown a new champion given Lopez’s unchanging stance on his retirement.
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