Mauricio Sulaiman says Terence Crawford was aware of the WBC’s reported $300,000 sanctioning fee long before his undisputed fight against Canelo Alvarez last September, offering a different take on the recent title fee dispute
The WBC president addressed the issue during a recent interview after Crawford publicly questioned why the organization would not match the terms he said had been adopted by other sanctioning bodies. Sulaiman said the amount was already communicated in advance and was not a surprise once the fight was concluded.
“He knew in advance the amount that the WBC had set for that particular fight, and it was supposed to be 300,000. That was a limit,” Ring Champs said of Crawford before his fight with Canelo.
Sulaiman added that the figure was lower than the percentage the organization says it can charge under its rules. He said the WBC puts a ceiling on the fee rather than applying the full rate.
The disagreement became a talking point after Crawford publicly responded to earlier comments related to the sanctions process. Sulaiman avoided escalating the exchange, saying he did not want to criticize Crawford personally.
“I’m not going to talk bad about Crawford,” Sulaiman said.
He also said fighters and promoters receive contracts and stipulations before title fights are sanctioned, describing the process as standard practice rather than something created for one event.
“There are contracts. Once you serve as a promoter, and you get the sanction, the rules are there,” said Sulaiman.
When a fighter makes tens of millions, a standard fee of 3% suddenly becomes serious money, and that’s when objections usually start.
The comments draw attention to a long-standing issue in boxing, where sanction fees are often accepted during negotiations but become controversial once big purses are involved. Big fights usually expose how much power the belts still carry.
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Last updated on 2026/04/25 at 18:31
