The WBA today ordered welterweight champion Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero to start negotiating with its compulsory challenger, Shakhram Giyasovfor a title defense. They have until November 13 to negotiate an agreement in front of a wallet. It’s not going to make Rolly and Manny Pacquiao happy.
Pacquiao title shot in Jeopardy
The command of the WBA farm Rolly’s planned January 24, 2026, fights against Manny Pacquio on shaky ground because he has the title at stake. Fans of Pacquiao (62-8-3, 39 COs) looked forward to seeing him fight Rolly (17-2, 13 COs) for his WBA title. They root for Pacquiao to win a world title at 47 against a vulnerable champion.
The fight can still take place, but without Rolly’s WBA title at stake. He will have to evacuate his title, because his compulsory is now directly directed against Giyasov promotion.
A father’s promise to his deceased daughter
Earlier this year, Giyasov revealed that he had promised his dying 2-year-old daughter that he would win a world title. For him to be bypassed in favor of an older fighter, Pacquiao, who does not deserve a world title, would be a shame. How can Pacquiao even fight with the knowledge of Giyasov’s situation?
“I promised her that I would be world champion! It’s a fight for my daughter – I promised my daughter that I would be a world champion. She believed me, I did it,“Giyasov said to Dazn about a promise he made to his dying 2-year-old daughter before she passed away in March 2025.
WBA order Romero vs. Giyasovhttps://t.co/pudt20gtg5
– WBA Boxing (@wbaboxing) October 13, 2025
Pacquiao could wait for the winner
It would not be the end of the world for Pacquiao to wait until Giyasov shot his title against Rolly. If the entire point in the Filipine star to fight for a world title is to win a title at 47, he can try to reach it against the winner of the Romero Giyasov battle.
Of course, it would be much more difficult for Pacquiao to defeat Giyasov, as the Olympic silver medalist in 2016 would be a nightmare for the older fighter. Rolly’s chances of beating Giyasov are slim. The battle is a mismatch on paper, which is why Romero is not eager to fulfill his compulsory obligation. Giyasov is bad news for him.
If Giyasov does agree to a step aside, it is predictable that the Pacquiao Rolly winner would do the same for their next battle. Why would one of these fighters face Giyasov if their chances of winning would be slim, and they would make less money than fighting a more popular fighter like Ryan Garcia, Conor Benn or Devin Haney?
For the 147-pound WBA belt at stake, a probably seven-digit-step payment will have to be made to the Giyasov number 1 to move him aside. The problem is that Giyasov agreed earlier this year in April to have a step -one agreement to allow the then WBA champion, Eimantas Stanionis, to fight the IBF champion, Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis in a unification.
Shortly after Ennis defeated Stanionis to win his WBA title, he vacated the belt. The WBA allowed Rolly Romero and Ryan Garcia to fight for the vacant title instead of Giyasov. So he was bypassed for a second time. If he agrees to a step-aside agreement, it would be the third time he didn’t get a title shot.
Last updated on 10/13/2025
