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Terence Crawford has been stripped of his World Boxing Council super-middleweight world title after a dispute over unpaid sanctioning fees, a decision that puts Britain’s Hamzah Sheeraz in line to fight for the vacant belt.
The WBC announced on Wednesday that it had removed the American star as its champion, three months after he shocked Canelo Álvarez in Las Vegas to become undisputed at 168lb. The organization said Crawford had not paid its required fees from that victory or from his previous bout in 2024, despite “multiple” attempts to contact him and his team.
With the title now vacant, the WBC has ordered its interim champion Christian Mbilli to face Sheeraz for the belt. The 26-year-old from Ilford made an explosive arrival to the division in July when he demolished local favorite Edgar Berlanga at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens. A win over Mbilli would make Sheeraz Britain’s newest world champion in one of boxing’s glamour divisions.
Crawford’s situation reflects a familiar tension in the sport. Sanctioning bodies such as the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO all charge fighters a percentage of their purse – typically around 3% – to compete for their belts. The fees have long been controversial, with critics arguing that the organizations wield significant power while operating with minimal oversight.
In Crawford’s case, the WBC says it lowered the fee for his fight against Álvarez from 3% to 0.6% because of his reported $50m (£37.6m) purse – an amount believed to be roughly $300,000 – and planned to send most of that money to a charity fund that supports retired fighters. Still, the 38-year-old Nebraskan reportedly did not respond to any communication regarding the payments.
“It’s very unfortunate,” WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán said as he announced the ruling at the governing body’s convention in Bangkok. He described the lack of reply as “a slap in the face”, though Crawford has not commented publicly and it remains unclear whether the missed payments were a deliberate choice or simply a case of a superstar with other priorities.
What is clear is that his reign as undisputed champion has ended almost as quickly as it began. Crawford still holds the WBO, IBF and WBA belts, but has hinted he may drop back down to middleweight for future fights.
For Sheeraz, the backroom politics matter far less than the opportunity that has materialized before him. Mbilli, a French-Cameroonian based in Montreal who is unbeaten in 30 bouts, is a high-pressure, high-volume fighter, while the 6ft 3in Sheeraz brings physical advantages of 6½in in height and 3in in reach. Their meeting, yet to be formally scheduled, promises to be one of the most significant British fights of the first half of next year.
Already the first man of the four-belt era to fully unify the titles in two different divisions, Crawford did it in a third when scaled two weight classes and won a dominant 12-round unanimous decision over Álvarez before a record crowd of 70,482 at Las Vegas’s Allegiant Stadium, an achievement without precedent in modern boxing. The 168lb title made him a five-weight champion, having previously captured belts from 135lb through 154lb.
Two weeks after the career-defining win, Crawford was involved in a contentious police stop in his hometown. Hours after Omaha held a parade in his honor, officers ordered him out of his car at gunpoint during a late-night traffic stop for alleged reckless driving. Video of the incident circulated widely and prompted the police chief to open an internal investigation.
Crawford’s security chief said he feared for their safety, while the mayor called for a full review and stressed the importance of maintaining trust between police and the community. No arrests were made.
