Astonishing move: Terence Crawford loses the WBC super middleweight title for not paying sanctions fees.
BANGKOK, Thailand – The WBC announced on Wednesday that it has stripped Crawford of its championship belt, labeling the undisputed 168-pound king’s failure to remit sanctioning fees from his last two fights as a ‘slap in the face.’
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman read from a press release stating that Crawford, who remains unbeaten, earned $50 million for his September victory over Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas but did not pay the $300,000 sanctioning fee—which amounts to 0.6% of his purse—after his prior August 2024 win against Israil Madrimov at junior middleweight.
“He forgot how he got to $50 million,” Sulaiman remarked.
Could a Usyk vs. Wilder showdown be a stellar clash or a total fiasco? Oleksandr Usyk has expressed interest in facing Deontay Wilder, and BoxingScene Today’s panel weighs the matchup. While most contributors lean toward excitement, Paulie Malignaggi remains skeptical.
Tuesday | Dec 2, 2025
(The linked discussion: Would Oleksandr Usyk vs. Deontay Wilder be a great fight or a disaster? BoxingScene Today)
Following the vote, the WBC board ordered that the interim title fight between Christian Mbilli and England’s Hamzah Sheeraz be elevated to a title bout for the now-vacant belt.
Lester Martinez, who fought Mbilli to a draw on the Crawford–Alvarez card, is positioned as a potential challenger to the Mbilli–Sheeraz winner.
BoxingScene will continue to monitor developments as this situation unfolds.
Related Articles
All Boxing Articles
(https://www.boxingscene.com/articles)
