WBC President Responds To Terence Crawford's Scathing Belt-Stripping Criticism

On December 3, the WBC confirmed that they would be stripping Terence Crawford of his World Super Middleweight title. The decision came at the WBC convention in Bangkok, Thailand, due to Crawford not paying sanctioning fees for his previous two bouts.

The removal of the belt from Crawford's possession meant that he was no longer an undisputed world champion. This led to Crawford taking to social media to share his thoughts on the situation.

Amidst the eight-minute-long video included, "You, the WBC, you got the green belt, which doesn't mean ****. The real belt is the Ring belt, which is free. You want me to pay you more than the other sanctioning bodies because you feel like you're better than them?.. You can take the ****ing belt. It's a trophy anyway."

Crawford also directed comments directly towards WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, who has spoken on the situation.

Mauricio Sulaiman Responds To Terence Crawford Situation

In a recent interview with IFL TV, WBC president Sulaiman was asked about the ongoing situation with Crawford.

Sulaiman started by saying, "It's very unfortunate. The worst situation, the worst decision that the WBC could ever make is to withdraw the recognition of a champion. I'm very sorry for Terence's actions. His actions led to the WBC to decide something."

It was then confirmed by the WBC president that their decision came as a result of Crawford not paying the sanctioning fees for his bouts with Israil Madrimov and Canelo Alvarez.

In terms of the cost of the sanctioning fees for the Alvarez bout, Sulaiman described them as 'minimal'. "The sanctioning fees that we assessed were minimal. Contrary to the belief of the 3% that the rules state on large-scale events, we do modify sanctioning fees."

Canelo vs Crawford | IMAGO / Hoganphotos

Sulaiman added that 'most' of the money from the sanctioning fees was set to go to Jose Sulaiman Boxers Fund, which supports athletes in boxing. The Mexican later went on to explain that of the $300,000 in sanctioning fees, $225,000 would go to the fund, while $75,000 went directly to the WBC to pay employees.

"It's unfortunate that it will carry on as a money matter, which it is not. The matter is that there are rules, there are structures, there are forms. The WBC's only reason for existence is for the fighters, for the boxers, before, during, and after their years in the ring."
Mauricio Sulaiman

Despite the actions taken by the WBC, Sulaiman said, "Crawford is a sensational champion, with legendary status. I like him, I respect him."

The Mexican businessman added, "It was his decision. He decided not to abide by the rules, and we were led with no other solution or position but to take that action."

Sulaiman also responded to claims that Crawford was concerned in regard to where the money from the sanctioning fees went.

"Every single action, every single donation, every single program, anything that the WBC does is directly on behalf of our champions and our promoters... Every single penny that comes into the WBC goes back to boxing in one way or another."

MORE: Terence Crawford's Alleged Purse For Canelo Alvarez Fight Revealed By WBC

Despite the ongoing friction between the pair, Sulaiman said he would 'welcome' Crawford to challenge for WBC titles in the future.

Sulaiman finished by saying, "I am not going to entertain and get in a p***ing contest with Terence Crawford. If he says what he says, let him say whatever he wants to say. Today, the WBC cares; they made a statement wishing him success in his life, inside and outside of the ring. He's a boxer and will always be a boxer. We only care for the boxers. So, we'll have to see in the near future, but I have no issues."

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