Within the WBA organization, the champion has the duty of defending his crown against the mandatory contender every 9 months. The last time Roman made a mandatory defense was on June 16th of 2018, when he beat Mexican native Moises Flores. The deadline for a new defense expired on March 15th, days before the American made his unification fight with T. J. Doheny.

Rule C.13 of the WBA states that the champion cannot fight with a rival other than the mandatory within 60 days after the lapse for the mandatory fight expires. Due to that, the entity has given a lapse of one month from this May 7th and until the end of June 6th for both parties to reach an agreement for the fight.

In the event that there is no agreement or any of those involved does not show interest in closing a deal, the WBA will have to call an auction to define the terms of the fight.