Terence crawford loses title after missing $300K sanction fee

Terence Crawford poses with his championship belts after defeating Saul Alvarez / Photo: Instagram/@tbudcrawford

Undefeated American boxer Terence Crawford has lost his title as the undisputed super middleweight champion (up to 76.2 kilograms). On Dec. 3, he was stripped of the WBC title for failing to pay the $300,000 sanction fee for his bout against Saul «Canelo» Alvarez, the World Boxing Council said on its website.

Crawford reportedly earned $50 million for the fight with the Mexican athlete. However, following a reassessment of the event’s scale, the WBC changed the rules and reduced the applicable fee from 3% to 0.6%.

The WBC noted that it had informed Crawford of his violation of the Rules and Regulations. It also emerged that the American athlete had not paid the fee not only for the fight against Alvarez but also for his bout with Uzbek boxer Israil Madrimov in August 2024.

«The WBC sent multiple communications to Champion Crawford, his manager, and his legal counsel. Very unfortunately, the WBC did not receive an acknowledgment 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,» the council said in a statement.

According to BoxingScene, the WBC has appointed the next contenders for the vacant title. They reportedly are interim champion Frenchman Christian Mbilli and Briton Hamzah Sheeraz.

Context

In September, Crawford defeated Saul Alvarez by unanimous decision and became the undisputed super middleweight champion (up to 76.2 kg). The American maintained his perfect record of 42 wins in 42 fights. He became the first boxer to become undisputed champion in three weight classes. He previously held all titles in the super lightweight (63.5 kg) and welterweight (66.7 kg) divisions.