Jack Catterall is prepared to fill the void seemingly left behind by the current divisional king.

The stakes are now raised for Catterall’s upcoming showdown with Arnold Barboza, coming with the interim WBO 140-pound title at stake. Their Feb. 15 clash at Co-op Live in Manchester, England was originally scheduled as a title eliminator but received an upgrade given the unavailability of The Ring/WBO champ Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs).

“In light of the uncertainty regarding Teofimo Lopez’s career, it is in the best interest of boxing & the 140 lbs division, recommending to #WBO Championship [Committee] that Barboza/Catterall be sanctioned for the Interim title,” WBO president Gustavo Olivieri announced on Friday. “Mandatory subject to specific conditions & time frame.”

Lopez remains embroiled in a dispute with career-long promoter Top Rank, hindering his availability to defend the crown.

England’s Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs) and Los Angeles’ Barboza (31-0, 11 KOs) are the two highest rated WBO contenders. Their forthcoming battle is also a matchup of The Ring top ten junior welterweights. Catterall is No. 2 contender; Barboza is No. 9.

Catterall was long considered unlucky to not have claimed The Ring/undisputed championship in a disputed Feb. 2022 split decision defeat to then-unbeaten Josh Taylor (now 19-2, 13 KOs; The Ring No. 7 contender). He’s since proved his worth as the best leading contender with four consecutive wins.

Included among the lot was a revenge-fueled win over Taylor last May and a dominant showing over former two-time 140-pound titlist Regis Prograis (29-3, 24 KOs) last Oct. 26 in Manchester.

The natural course of progression was to then take a fight that would lead to another title bout. Given the uncertainty of Lopez’s immediate future, the British southpaw doesn’t see a reason why his very next matchup can’t carry those stakes.

“I believe me and Barboza should be for the full WBO title,” Catterall told The Ring. “The WBO needs to make money like everyone else and they won’t whilst their world champion is pricing himself out of fights, the belts just collecting dust.”

For now, the Catterall-Barboza winner is next in line for Lopez. The interim title provides insurance in the event Lopez moves in a different direction—which is the general belief, given the current course of his career.

“Teo is a great fighter but completely delusional about his value,” stated Catterall. “He boxed Taylor after I boxed him and couldn’t sell out the Hulu [Theater] in New York. Great fighter but he thinks he’s a much bigger star than what he is. Teo also pretends I don’t exist but knows he needs to either vacate or fight me after this."