WBA 147-lb mandatory challenger Shakhram Giyasov is pushing for his title shot against welterweight champion Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero with the sanctioning body.
This move on #1 Giyasov’s part is thanks to Romero (17-2, 13 KOs) asking the WBA for an exception to fight again next, possibly against Manny Pacquiao in early 2026. If not Pacquiao, Devin Haney.
Both fights will pay well for Rolly and earn him millions. The alternative is Romero next defending against his mandatory Giyasov, and potentially losing to him.
Boxingcene reports that Giyasov’s team has written to the WBA to exercise its mandatory right to face Romero next. Giyasov (17-0, 10 KOs) has been the WBA mandatory since 2024, when Eimantas Stanionis held the title.
Rolly, 30, captured the vacant WBA welterweight title earlier this year on May 2, 2025, defeating Ryan Garcia by a 12-round unanimous decision in Times Square. He has since sat on the WBA title and not defended it.
2016 Olympian Giyasov probably poses too much of a talent risk for Romero to satisfy his mandatory status. If he were to make the defense against Giyasov of Uzbekistan, there is a high chance that he would lose to him. That would ruin Rolly’s chances for a big payday fight against the 46-year-old Pacquiao or a unification match against the new WBO champion Haney.
If the WBA allows Rolly to renege on his mandatory commitment against Giyasov, it will look bad in the eyes of fans. The message would be that this is not a sport, it is a popularity contest. For mandatory to mean anything, champions must be required to defend against fighters who reach that status. If they are allowed to get exceptions for one reason or another, repeatedly delaying mandatory challengers, it makes a joke of the sport.
If Rolly isn’t a good enough champion to hold onto his WBA title against a defense against Giyasov, so be it. It’s survival of the fittest. He should not be allowed to artificially cling to a title which he cannot maintain because of exceptions given to him.
Last updated on 29/11/2025
