A battle fueled by loss

Today, the WBA ordered welterweight champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero to begin negotiations with his mandatory challenger, Chakram Giasovto defend the title. They have until November 13 to negotiate a deal before the purse bid. This won’t make Rolly and Manny Pacquiao happy.

Pacquiao’s title shot is in jeopardy

The WBA order puts Rowley’s scheduled January 24, 2026 fight against Manny Pacquio on shaky ground due to the title being in jeopardy. Fans of Pacquiao (62-8-3, 39 KOs) were looking forward to seeing him fight Rowley (17-2, 13 KOs) for the WBA title. They are rooting for Pacquiao to win a world title at 47 years old against a weak champion.

The fight could still happen, but without Rowley’s WBA title on the line. He will have to vacate his title as he has now been issued a mandatory order against Giyasov who was promoted on Matchroom.

A father’s promise to his late daughter

Earlier this year, Giasov revealed that he promised his dying two-year-old daughter that he would win a world title. For him to be passed over in favor of an older fighter, Pacquiao, who doesn’t deserve a world title shot, would be a shame. How could Pacquiao take the fight knowing Giasov’s condition?

“I promised her I would be world champion! It’s a fight for my daughter – I promised for my daughter to be a world champion. You believed me, I did itGiasov told DAZN about the promise he made to his 2-year-old dying daughter before she died in March 2025.

WBA orders Romero against Giasovhttps://t.co/PUDT20gtg5

– World Boxing (@WBABoxing) October 13, 2025

Pacquiao can wait for the winner

It wouldn’t be the end of the world for Pacquiao to wait for Giasov to get his title shot against Rowley. If the main goal of the Filipino star’s fight for a world title is to capture a title at 47 years old, he could attempt to achieve that against the winner of the Romero-Gyasov fight.

Of course, it will be very difficult for Pacquiao to defeat Giasov because the 2016 Olympic silver medalist would be a nightmare for the older fighter. Rulli’s chances of beating Giasov are slim. This fight is a mismatch on paper, which is why Romero doesn’t want to fulfill his mandatory obligation. Giasov is bad news for him.

If Giasov agrees to step aside, the Pacquiao-Rulley winner is expected to do the same in his next fight. Why would any of these fighters want to fight Giasov when their chances of winning are slim, and they would make less money than fighting a more popular fighter like Ryan Garcia, Conor Penn, or Devin Haney?

For the WBA 147-pound belt to be on the line, a seven-figure sum would likely have to be paid to No. 1 Giasov to get him to step aside. The problem is that Giasov had already agreed to step aside from the deal earlier this year in April to allow then-WBA champion Imantas Stanionis to face IBF champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis in a unification fight.

Shortly after Ennis defeated Stanionis to capture the WBA title, he vacated the belt. The WBA allowed Rolly Romero and Ryan Garcia to fight for the vacant title in Giasov’s place. So he was passed over for the second time. If he accepts a step down deal, it will be the third time he has failed to get a title shot.