Promoter Eddie Hearn says what Terence Crawford did with him, agreeing to fight for the undisputed super middleweight championship and then refusing to pay the sanctioning fees for the WBC belt afterward, was wrong.
Paraded Belts, Ignored Bill
Hearn notes that Crawford “paraded” the titles around, enjoying the status of being the undisputed, boasting about it, but rejecting having to pay the $300,000 sanctioning fee out of the $50 million he was paid to fight Canelo Alvarez on September 13th.
The Car Loan Analogy
It’s like a person buying an expensive car on loan, driving it around, enjoying the status, then refusing to pay the loan payments. The person then gets angry when the loan company repossesses the car for non-payment. When that happens, playing the victim card, trashing the loan company for repossessing the car. Basically, Crawford did the same thing, but with the WBC belt.
Should Crawford Have Spoken Up?
Should Crawford have said something before agreeing to the Canelo fight? You betcha. If Crawford had an issue with the sanctioning fee that would be due, he should have said something before the fight with Canelo or during the negotiations. He could have said that he wouldn’t agree to fight for the WBC belt if they asked for a sanctioning fee if he won it.
If Crawford had said that he wanted to be exempt from paying the sanctioning fee, the WBC could have made a decision whether to have their title at stake. By saying nothing and then fighting for the WBC belt, he essentially agreed to the terms that came with possessing that belt. He’s not ignorant about sanctioning fees after having held world titles at 135, 140, 147, and 154.
You Took It, Now Pay For It
“You were boasting about your undisputed championship, and that is part of the WBC,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to iFL TV about Terence Crawford needing the WBC belt to accomplish his goal of becoming a three-division undisputed champion against Canelo Alvarez.
“And what you can’t do is have the titles and parade with them, but not pay your bills. Do I think $300,000 is a lot of money? Yes, I do. But what Mauricio [Sulaiman] will say, ‘When you’re making $40 million.’ Is it a lot of money? Yes, it is. But it’s also the rules.
“If you don’t want to pay that bill in the first place, don’t fight for the undisputed,” said Hearn.