An old protest threatens Ryan Garcia‘s dream of becoming a unified champion in the welterweight division. Following the win over Conor Benn, he called out Teofimo Lopez to move the needle forward. Scenes showing security at the Zuffa event in T-Mobile Arena preventing the WBA title holder from having a ring face-off generated considerable buzz.
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Yet, top-ranked welterweight contender Souleymane Cissokho‘s complaint could plunge the entire plan, which includes a potential Cinco de Mayo showdown, into chaos.
“Now that Garcia-Benn is over, worth mentioning that Souleymane Cissokho is still awaiting his title shot despite winning a WBC Sanctioned Final Eliminator over 14 months ago,” On The Record Boxing’s X post read.
“Any comments @wbcmoro on why a fighter who’s been absent from a division for 4 years can be ordered as a mandatory challenger over another fighter who has gone through an ordered eliminator?”
The post followed an old tweet dated December 12, 2025. It revealed that Cissokho had officially filed a complaint seeking redress after Conor Benn overtook him as a mandatory challenger to Mario Barrios, who held the title at the time.
Those comments came after leading French sports news outlet L’Équipe shared the details in an op-ed.
It centered on Cissokho’s situation that followed his win over Lithuanian Egidijus Kavaliauskas. While the Senegal-born French fighter retained his WBC Silver welterweight title, the victory reportedly earned him a shot at Barrios’ belt. Instead, he was forced to wait and watch the changing picture at 147 pounds.
Now that Garcia-Benn is over, worth mentioning that Souleymane Cissokho is still awaiting his title shot despite winning a WBC Sanctioned Final Eliminator over 14 months ago. Any comments @wbcmoro on why a fighter who’s been absent from a division for 4 years can be ordered as Show more
🚨CISSOKHO LAUNCHES PROTEST AGAINST WBC Undefeated Welterweight Souleymane Cissokho has officially lodged a complaint after being bypassed by Conor Benn as the WBC mandatory challenger despite Cissokho winning a WBC final eliminator back in May.
Just weeks before Cissokho raised his objection, the WBC announced at its annual convention in Bangkok that Conor Benn would be the No. 1 ranked challenger to Barrios’ title. The move was surprising given Benn was previously ranked No. 4 and had not fought at 147 pounds since February 2022.
The situation, meanwhile, had already become complicated by Ryan Garcia’s entry. Following the loss to Rolando Romero on May 2, 2025, Garcia announced in November that he will face Barrios for the title. It wasn’t until January 12 this year, when the WBC made it official.
From Cissokho’s perspective, having to watch two complete outsiders, whose only claim to the title shot rested on their overwhelming popularity and massive drawing power, was not acceptable.
L’Equipe’s report suggests Dominique Nato, president of the French Boxing Federation (FFB), who was present at the convention, lodged a protest on behalf of Cissokho with WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman.
Later, the sanctioning body released a statement saying, “Mario Barrios will defend himself against Ryan Garcia. The winner will face official challenger Conor Benn. Souleymane Cissokho won a final elimination bout and holds the WBC Silver title. President Sulaiman will consider his claim.”
Now it’s been over 12 months since Cissokho stepped inside the ring.
Yet, with Garcia calling out Teofimo Lopez for a potential title fight, the Senegalese-French fighter’s title hopes only look more bleak.
More than Cissokho: When WBC title shots take the long way
The welterweight contender’s situation closely resembles the one involving Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Serhii Bohachuk at 154 pounds.
In January 2025, the Ukrainian moved to No. 1 spot in WBC’s light-middleweight rankings after it removed former undefeated champion Errol Spence Jr.
However, in August, the WBC put Ennis, who moved up from the welterweight division following his unified championship win over Eimantas Stanionis, ahead of Bohachuk as the No. 1-ranked contender. The Ukrainian’s promoter, Tom Loeffler, formally appealed, specifically arguing that Bohachuk was the mandatory challenger and that Ennis had never competed in the division.
What makes Bohachuk’s situation slightly different from the one facing Cissokho is that WBC’s Rating Appeals Committee, after reviewing the Ukrainian’s appeal, reinstated him at No. 1 rank.
While Bohachuk’s case was primarily a ranking dispute, Cissokho’s is about getting his mandatory title opportunity after an eliminator.
Another similar example involves Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez’s mandatory situation.
A WBC interim title holder at 168 pounds since he defeated David Lemieux in May 2022, Benavidez gradually moved toward becoming an official mandatory challenger to Canelo Alvarez, who held the undisputed title at the time, after stopping Demetrus Andrade in November 2023.
Yet, despite his public call-outs to Canelo and his position as a mandatory challenger, Benavidez failed to get a title shot. Canelo continued making voluntary defenses, facing the likes of Jaime Munguia, Edgar Berlanga, and William Scull before Terence Crawford eventually defeated him.
Left with no choice, Benavidez eventually moved up to the light heavyweight division before claiming the unified title at 200 pounds.
Given that history, the situation looks concerning for Cissokho.
It’s been months since WBC resolved his grievance. With Ryan Garcia now establishing himself as a major draw, commercial considerations make a matchup with Cissokho look ever harder to make. Despite his unbeaten record, he remains a low-tier draw when compared to someone like Teofimo Lopez.
So, even the organizers and promoters may not show much interest in a fight with Cissokho.
The most likely course of action that WBC might take would be to find a way for his title aspirations to be temporarily fulfilled, allowing stars like Garcia and Lopez to have their run before Cissokho and others enter the picture once the field becomes more open.