Terence Crawford has accused the WBC of punishing Shakur Stevenson because of Crawford’s own dispute with the sanctioning body.
Both Crawford and Stevenson were stripped by the WBC after major victories. Crawford lost his WBC title months after defeating Canelo Alvarez, while Stevenson was stripped just days after beating Teofimo Lopez to become a four-division world champion.
The WBC claimed Stevenson had failed to pay a sanctioning fee for the Lopez fight, even though the WBC title was not on the line. Crawford believes the decision was connected to his own public disagreement with the organization.
“I definitely agree with Shakur that the WBC targeted him because of my issue with them,” Crawford said. “That wasn’t right at all. So you blame me and try to punish him? It wasn’t right at all.”
Crawford said WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán has since apologized to him in person over comments made during their dispute, but Crawford felt the apology should also have been public.
The retired former pound-for-pound king also criticized the wider sanctioning body system, arguing that fighters should have more say over where their money goes.
“We put our life on the line,” Crawford said. “We turn around and make it to be a world champion, and we have to pay to be a world champion.”
Crawford believes fighters should be rewarded for winning world titles rather than constantly paying higher fees as they earn more and move through unifications.
“I think you should get a prize for winning,” Crawford said. “I don’t think they should be constantly taking from the fighters that work their butt off to get to where they are.”
Image Credit: WBC