Terence Crawford has strongly criticized WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman after losing his WBC super-middleweight title. Crawford became the undisputed 168lb champion by defeating Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas, making history as the first male fighter in the modern era to hold undisputed titles in three weight divisions.
However, Crawford’s reign as the undisputed champion at super-middleweight was abruptly ended as Sulaiman confirmed the boxer’s belt was stripped due to unpaid sanctioning fees. In response to the decision, Crawford expressed his displeasure, stating that he refused to pay the fees and questioned the superiority of the WBC over other sanctioning bodies.
Meanwhile, Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul are set to clash in a heavyweight fight in Miami on December 19, with the match available for streaming on Netflix as part of Sky’s Essential TV bundle. Crawford’s outburst towards Sulaiman came after the WBC president criticized him for not paying the sanctioning fees, calling it a disrespectful move.
Following the title stripping, the WBC swiftly arranged a vacant title fight between Hamzah Sheeraz and Christian Mbilli. Mbilli, who had previously claimed the interim title, will now compete for the vacant championship against Sheeraz, who last fought in July with a knockout victory over Edgar Berlanga.