Crawford belt loss was inevitable after $300,000 fee stoppage

Terence Crawford being stripped of his WBC 168-lb title was predictable yesterday, due to the $300K sanctioning fee from the $50 million purse received for the Canelo Alvarez fight last September.

WBC gave him a break – he still said no

The WBC has already bent over backwards to give Crawford a break, lowering their usual sanctioning fee from 3% to 0.6%. That meant he didn’t have to pay $1.5 million of the $50 million purse he got from the Canelo ‘Fight of the Century,’ just $300,000. Crawford refused to pay.

Stubbornness about strategy

Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs), digging in his heels, refusing to pay and devaluing the WBC belt, left the sanctioning body no choice but to strip him. What Crawford doesn’t understand is how his stubborn attitude has hurt him and his market value.

Someone needed to sit Crawford down and make him understand what he stands to lose by not paying the WBC’s sanctioning fee. That didn’t happen, and Bud let his emotions get the best of him.

Three tires don’t sell like four

Nebraska native Terence was slow to understand how important the WBC title is to him in retaining his undisputed super middleweight championship. He needed all four titles to keep his value high so he could get top dollar for his rematch with Canelo or a fight against anyone else.

Crawford’s decision not to pay the $300K, which is a pittance given how much he’s made in his last two fights, means he’ll go into negotiations as the former undisputed 168-lb champion, rather than the current one. He’s pushing 39, and it doesn’t help that he only holds three belts instead of all four.

During yesterday’s rant, Terence let it slip that he negotiated his sanctioning fee with the other IBF, WBA and WBO for him to keep their belts. But he had a problem with the WBC, and he said they should have taken what he offered them.

Bradley’s Sheeraz Conspiracy

“It’s about Hamzah Sheeraz getting a tape. That’s what it’s about. Whose guy is it?” said Tim Bradley on his channelsuggesting that the reason the WBC stripped Crawford was to help Turki Alalshikh get one of his favorite fighters, Hamzah Sheeraz, a title shot.

“It’s not about the money. It’s about Sheeraz getting that belt without going through Crawford,” Bradley said.

Truth: Crawford tried to lowball the WBC

Tim goes in left with his conspiracy theory idea. It is not what it is. The real problem is that Crawford is cheap and expects the WBC to give him special treatment and pay what he wants rather than follow their rules.