Terence Crawford is being royally roasted by fans on social media today after choosing not to pay his 0.6% sanctioning fee for the WBC 168-lb belt, for the enormous $50 million he was paid by Turki Alalshikh for his fight against Canelo Alvarez on September 13th.
$300K That Cost a WBC Belt
Fans see Crawford’s failure to pay the WBC’s $300,000 sanctioning fee as flat-out greed on his part, as this amount would have been a drop in the bucket from the $50M purse he was paid. With all the loot Crawford made, couldn’t he at least have paid his bills?
Canelo Rematch Value Drops
Losing that title means that the 38-year-old Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) is no longer the undisputed champion at super middleweight. That takes away much of the marketing value of a rematch with Canelo or a title defense against a talented contender. If there is a second fight, it’s not going to be for the undisputed.
Moreover, fans aren’t going to be sold on it being ‘The Fight of the Century’ junk again, not after how boring their first bout was last September. Crawford played it safe for 12 rounds, using his hit-and-not-get-hit style, just stealing the payday without putting his hide on the line by going to war.
Terence was hiding in the foxhole the entire bout, not even willing to earn the $50 million Turki paid him. Where was the guilt on his part? Now, not to pay the sanctioning fee to the WBC, what does that tell you?
It comes across to fans as a cheap move on Omaha, Nebraska, Crawford’s part, since he was well aware of the rules for belt holders regarding sanctioning fees. As a 17-year pro, he knew that he had to pay sanctioning fees.
Ring Title Isn’t Enough
“This is why the Ring Magazine championship is the only one that truly matters. No sanctioning fees, just recognizing the best. And Bud is still the Ring Magazine champion at 168,” said Mike Coppinger on X.
The problem with Coppinger is that there are too many fighters who care more about the other belts than they do the Ring title. The WBC is one of the most prestigious boxing titles. If Crawford didn’t want to pay for the sanctioning fee, he should have turned down the fight or told Turki he wouldn’t face Canelo unless the belt weren’t at stake.
It looks bad to let his WBC title be stripped rather than paying what would have been a small amount, given all the loot that Turki paid him.