Terence Crawford expressed strong criticism towards WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman following the revocation of his WBC super-middleweight title. Crawford, known as ‘Bud,’ achieved the undisputed 168lb championship with a historic win over Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas, making him the first male fighter in the modern era to hold undisputed titles in three weight divisions. However, Sulaiman confirmed Crawford’s title strip due to unpaid sanctioning fees, leading to a heated response from Crawford on Instagram Live.
In a bold statement, Crawford questioned the WBC’s authority and highlighted the financial burden placed on fighters to cover expenses for sanctioning bodies. He emphasized the significance of The Ring belt over the WBC belt and criticized the perceived extravagance of sanctioning bodies at the expense of fighters. This controversy arose just before the upcoming heavyweight clash between Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul in Miami on December 19, which will be streamed live on Netflix as part of Sky’s discounted Essential TV bundle.
Sulaiman defended the WBC’s role in organizing lucrative fights like Crawford vs. Canelo but lamented Crawford’s failure to meet the sanctioning fee obligations. The WBC swiftly announced a vacant title fight between Hamzah Sheeraz and Christian Mbilli to fill the void left by Crawford’s dethronement. Mbilli, the interim titleholder, will face Sheeraz, a rising British star, in a highly anticipated matchup.