Jack Catterall-Arnold Barboza done, could be for all the marbles at junior welterweight

Whether it arises to a full-fledged title bout by fight night is in the hands of Teofimo Lopez’s handlers, but Jack Catterall and Arnold Barboza Jnr will at least get as close as possible to the WBO 140-pound title February 15 when they clash in Manchester, England.

Matchroom formally announced that the deal has been finalized for England’s Catterall 30-1 (13 KOs) to meet Southern California’s Barboza 31-0 (11 KOs) in the WBO final eliminator.

Champion Lopez has made repeated attempts to land a welterweight fight, most recently pushing IBF champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis for a title shot after previously doing so with new WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr.

Should Lopez agree to a next fight and vacate his 140-pound belt, the WBO would likely bless Catterall-Barboza as the title fight.

Both men, respectively have defeated recent undisputed and unified champions Josh Taylor and Jose Ramirez.

Catterall avenged a disputed 2022 loss to Taylor on the scorecards by defeating him by unanimous decision in May, and Barboza is coming off a November unanimous-decision triumph (97-93, 96-94, 96-94) over Ramirez in Saudi Arabia.

DAZN will stream the bout.

“I’m looking forward to fighting back in Manchester,” Catterall said in a Sunday news release. “It was an unbelievable experience opening big time boxing (by defeating former 140-pound champion Regis Prograis) at Co-op Live back in October. I’m looking to do it bigger and better on February 15. I’ve got a great fight in Barboza Jr. I’m glad he finally found his pen. I’m not overlooking him, but I’m ready to smash him to pieces to cement my spot for the WBO World Title. I’m geared up for this one.”

Barboza expects his second consecutive road trip to be a memorable experience.

“I want to express my gratitude for the opportunity to take my skills overseas and contribute to my team’s success,” he said in a prepared statement. “I’m truly excited to do what I do best and make it a meaningful win.”

With Barboza promoter Oscar De LaHoya calling it a “pick-em” fight, Catterall promoter Eddie Hearn pointed to the possibility of the match taking on increased stakes.

“This is absolutely huge. It is a final eliminator … and, hopefully, it could even be for the world title if Teofimo Lopez gets out of the way,” Hearn said. “Jack should already be an undisputed world champion. And there is no better way than to prove that he has earned his place at the very top by beating Arnold Barboza Jr in what is a fantastic fight.”