BANGKOK, Thailand – The WBC on Wednesday stripped its belt from undisputed 168lbs champion Terence Crawford, calling the fighter’s non-payment of sanctioning fees from his last two bouts “a slap in the face.”
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman read from a news release detailing that the unbeaten, five-division champion Crawford, 42-0 (31 KOs), after defeating Canelo Alvarez in September in Las Vegas, stiffed the sanctioning body of $300,000 in sanctioning fees – 0.6% of his $50 million purse – after previously denying another undisclosed payment owed from his August 2024 154lbs title victory over Israil Madrimov.
“He forgot how he got to make $50 million,” Sulaiman said. “It’s very unfortunate that the WBC did not even receive an acknowledgement of receipt nor anything in response to any of those communications.
“The WBC has no choice … Mr. Crawford, his manager and legal counsel received ample communications to address the situation. Accordingly, the board of governors considered the multiple warnings and demand for compliance and has voted to declare the WBC super-middleweight title vacant effective immediately.”
In the Marriott Marquis ballroom where the decision was announced, loud applause erupted from the boxing officials in attendance, with one veteran official warning Sulaiman, “This is just the beginning, the first shot” as the new Zuffa Boxing group begins vowing to take fighters away from sanctioning bodies and fight for the company’s own belts.
“They’re coming for you,” the man said.
The WBC board responded to Crawford’s dismissal by voting to make a title-meeting between interim champion Christian Mbilli, 29-0-1 (24 KOs), and England’s Hamzah Sheeraz, 22-1-1 (18 KOs), for the now-vacant belt.
ProBoxTV’s Lester Martinez, 19-0-1 (16KOs), who fought Mbilli to a fight-of-the-year-worthy draw on the Crawford-Alvarez card, is in line to fight the Mbilli-Sheeraz winner, the board voted.
Sulaiman said divorcing from a Hall of Fame-bound Crawford became an “extremely complicated and disappointing situation that we’ve been dealing with sensitively for some time … this is boxing.
“It is with deep regret, deep sadness, that with all the efforts, support and steps the WBC took in good faith [for Crawford] … the WBC was instrumental in making that fight, the [championship] ring we made [for him] … just to receive a slap in the face is sad,” Sulaiman said.
“It’s very complicated to withdraw a title from a champion — it hurts deeply. Terence Crawford has been very successful, a [five-division] world champion for 13 years. It is just terrible. Not even a thank you, or ‘I’m sorry.’ No response.
“I wish him the best. But the WBC is great and strong, and I’m relieved, to tell you the truth. The next chapter will be as good or better than the chapter that has left.”
During the afternoon-long mandatories meeting, it was announced negotiations for a 154lbs battle of unbeatens in Vergil Ortiz Jnr and Jaron “Boots” Ennis could be finalized as soon as next week, while the sanctioning body approved light-heavyweight champion David Benavidez to move up for a likely Cinco de Mayo bout against unified cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson to fight 140lbs champion Teofimo Lopez January 31 in Madison Square Garden.
Additionally, the Tokyo Dome is set to stage a May meeting between unbeaten Japan champions Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani should both win in Saudi Arabia December 27.
“Hamzah Sheeraz just had the best fight of his career, knocking out [Edgar] Berlanga in New York. Mbilli does nothing but come forward. And Lester Martinez was in that unbelievable fight with Mbilli. And then whenever Canelo’s ready, he’s in the mix,” Sulauiman said.
“There’s going to be great activity.”
