Terence Crawford came to his defense today, saying he doesn’t need belts to “prove” himself. For someone who doesn’t care about belts, he sure made a big fuss about getting stripped of his WBC 168-lb title after he stiffed the sanctioning body with the $300,000 fee for winning it.
You Must OWN the Belt
Crawford had boasted about winning the undisputed championship off of a faded Canelo Alvarez on September 13th. But he chose not to pay for the WBC’s fee.
Since he never paid for the WBC title, you can’t say he was ever the valid owner. He didn’t complete the process. So in the true sense, Crawford never won the undisputed championship and was just a three-belt winner. He’s just a two-division undisputed champion. To own the belts, you have to pay for them, and he chose to skip out.
“Let’s be real: a belt is just a trophy. It don’t make me, it don’t define my legacy, and it damn sure don’t change what happened in that ring. History already happened. The record is set in stone,” said Terence Crawford on X today.
“I am the belt. The fighters make the belt. I don’t need it on my shelf to prove who I am. And anybody who’s ever stepped in front of me knows what “belt to a**” really means. Boxing ain’t the place for politics,” said Crawford.
Terence’s resume is mediocre. It’s not just Chris Williams who can see this. A whole bunch of fans have been talking. There’s nothing to see. Put his resume under a microscope, and this is what you get:
- Errol Spence – post car crash
- Canelo Alvarez – faded and propped up by matchmaking
- Yuriorkis Gamboa – undersized and two divisions out of his weight class
- Israil Madrimov – razor-close win.
Apex Hunters He Never Fought
Bud’s resume isn’t impressive on the surface. His saying he put “belt to a**” would mean something if he had victories over the apex predators at 135, 140, 147, 154, and 168 during his career. Crawford never fought these talents:
- Jaron Ennis
- David Benavidez
- Christian Mbilli
- Lester Martinez
- Vergil Ortiz Jr.