Terence Crawford, once hailed as the undisputed king of the boxing world at 168 pounds, has found himself stripped of his title after failing to pay sanctioning fees worth over $300,000. The World Boxing Council (WBC) has removed Crawford from its super-middleweight world championship following a dispute over unpaid fees for his victories against Canelo Alvarez and another opponent in 2024.
The WBC had reduced the fee for Crawford's fight against Alvarez from 3% to 0.6% due to his high purse of $50 million, with most of that amount planned to be donated to a charity fund supporting retired boxers. However, Crawford allegedly ignored multiple attempts by the organization to contact him regarding payments.
As a result, Christian Mbilli, the WBC's interim champion, has been ordered to face Britain's Hamzah Sheeraz for the vacant title. The 26-year-old Sheeraz, who made an explosive arrival in the division last year with a dominant win over Edgar Berlanga, now finds himself on the cusp of becoming Britain's newest world champion.
This move marks another chapter in the tumultuous world of professional boxing, where sanctioning fees have long been a contentious issue. Critics argue that organizations like the WBC wield significant power without adequate oversight, and Crawford's situation serves as a stark reminder of this problem.
Crawford still holds titles from the WBO, IBF, and WBA but has hinted at potentially dropping back down to middleweight for future fights. For Sheeraz, however, the focus is on seizing this opportunity and proving himself against Mbilli, who presents a high-pressure, high-volume fighting style that may test the young Brit's skills.
The upcoming bout between Mbilli and Sheeraz promises to be one of the most significant British fights of next year. While Crawford's reign as undisputed champion was marked by incredible achievements, including becoming the first boxer in modern history to unify titles in two different divisions within a single weight class, his own downfall serves as a cautionary tale about the complexities of professional boxing and the importance of navigating these delicate issues.
The WBC had reduced the fee for Crawford's fight against Alvarez from 3% to 0.6% due to his high purse of $50 million, with most of that amount planned to be donated to a charity fund supporting retired boxers. However, Crawford allegedly ignored multiple attempts by the organization to contact him regarding payments.
As a result, Christian Mbilli, the WBC's interim champion, has been ordered to face Britain's Hamzah Sheeraz for the vacant title. The 26-year-old Sheeraz, who made an explosive arrival in the division last year with a dominant win over Edgar Berlanga, now finds himself on the cusp of becoming Britain's newest world champion.
This move marks another chapter in the tumultuous world of professional boxing, where sanctioning fees have long been a contentious issue. Critics argue that organizations like the WBC wield significant power without adequate oversight, and Crawford's situation serves as a stark reminder of this problem.
Crawford still holds titles from the WBO, IBF, and WBA but has hinted at potentially dropping back down to middleweight for future fights. For Sheeraz, however, the focus is on seizing this opportunity and proving himself against Mbilli, who presents a high-pressure, high-volume fighting style that may test the young Brit's skills.
The upcoming bout between Mbilli and Sheeraz promises to be one of the most significant British fights of next year. While Crawford's reign as undisputed champion was marked by incredible achievements, including becoming the first boxer in modern history to unify titles in two different divisions within a single weight class, his own downfall serves as a cautionary tale about the complexities of professional boxing and the importance of navigating these delicate issues.
u got 300k or ur out man... its not right when ur tryna make that dough but cant even pay ur dues lol and now terence crawford is outta the title game? still got a lot of respect for the dude, all those unifications were fire 
but these fees gotta be regulated so u know u get paid 
! I'm all for Terence Crawford being a great boxer and all, but come on, he can't just ignore the sanctioning fees? 
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. I guess that's why there needs to be more oversight and accountability in place to prevent situations like this from happening again 
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. Bring it on! 
Mbilli's got the skills and the experience, but Sheeraz has that explosive energy... it's gonna be hard to predict who's gonna come out on top. One thing's for sure, though - we're in for a wild ride with these two guys 
. I mean, $300k is like, peanuts to him, considering his bankroll 
Christian Mbilli on the other hand, is about to get a huge opportunity to shine 
! He should totally seize this chance and prove himself against Mbilli. It's gonna be an intense fight, that's for sure 
at least shesheraz gets a shot at the title now, fingers crossed for him 
... this whole thing just goes to show how broken the boxing system is 
but for real tho how do sanctioning fees even work? it seems like these organizations have so much power over the boxers, but what's stopping them from taking advantage of people who aren't as well-connected or rich