Crawford Stripped of WBC World Title

Terence Crawford has been stripped of his WBC super middleweight title by the governing body. The American defeated Canelo Alvarez in September to become undisputed champion, winning the WBC belt alongside the WBA, IBF and WBO titles.

But after failing to pay sanctioning fees for his last two bouts, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has stripped him of the WBC belt. Speaking at the body’s annual convention in Bangkok, Thailand, Sulaiman said Crawford had failed to pay $300,000 for his fight with Canelo, having already failed to pay after beating Israil Madrimov at super welterweight last August.

“The WBC put champion Crawford on notice of his failure to comply with express mandates of the WBC rules and regulations,” Sulaiman explained, referring specifically to the non-payment of fees.

“The WBC sent multiple communications to champion Crawford, his manager, and his legal counsel. Very unfortunately, the WBC did not even receive an acknowledgement of receipt, nor any response to any of those communications. The WBC had no choice but to act, considering champion Crawford had received ample notification and multiple opportunities to address and resolve the situation.”

Sulaiman described his behaviour as “a slap in the face.”

Crawford, who defeated Alvarez by unanimous decision, lasted just 81 days as undisputed champion.

With the championship now vacant, the WBC has ordered interim champion Christian Mbilli to face the No. 2 contender, British fighter Hamzah Sheeraz, for the super middleweight title. The winner will face Lester Martinez, who held Mbilli to a draw on the Crawford-Canelo undercard in September. -independent

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