Eddie Hearn has sided with the World Boxing Council (WBC) in its dispute with Terence Crawford, who was stripped of his WBC title for refusing to pay sanctioning fees. Crawford outpointed Canelo Alvarez in September to become the undisputed super-middleweight champion, but was stripped of the WBC belt this week for failing to pay fees for that fight and a previous bout.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman called Crawford's refusal a “slap in the face”, while Crawford responded with a profanity-laced tirade on social media. Hearn, who has promoted boxers against Crawford, compared the situation to dining at a restaurant and refusing to pay the bill.
“What he did is a little bit like going out to a restaurant, having all the best caviar and lobsters, and the bill comes and you go: ‘I ain’t paying that!’ And you just walk out,” Hearn told iFL TV. “You sat down at the table, you wanted to eat all the good stuff; you’ve got to pay your dues and you’ve got to pay your bill.”
Crawford was expected to pay $300,000 for the Canelo fight, based on his $50m purse, but the WBC said that was a reduction from the usual 3 per cent to just 0.6 per cent, with $225,000 going to charity. Hearn argued that if Crawford wanted the undisputed title, he must abide by the rules of the belts.
“You wanted the opportunity to call yourself an undisputed champion, right? And the only way you can do that is to fight for the WBC world title. So, if belts don’t matter, then surely undisputed doesn’t matter to you,” Hearn said. He also noted the rise of new boxing entities, such as TKO, which may disrupt the existing belt system.
