The Undisputed Selling Point
The whole marketing angle that was part of the selling point for the Canelo-Crawford fight, with it being for the undisputed 168-lb championship, wouldn’t have happened.
“The reason he got a chance to fight for that kind of money is because the organizations were rating him and he was given opportunities to fight for a title,” said trainer Abel Sanchez to Fight Hub TV, talking about Terence Crawford.
Bud’s Ring Belt Remark
Terence’s statement after being stripped of his WBC title, saying the Ring belt is the “only one that really matters”, suggests that he only cares about that. Despite that, he still wanted to fight for the undisputed championship, and didn’t tell the WBC he wouldn’t pay ahead of time.
When they stripped him, he made a big production about it, complaining like they were in the wrong instead of himself. It made no sense. For a fighter nearing 40 years and with 17 years in the pros to be surprised by sanctioning fees, it’s surprising.
“He became known because of the organizations. At the start of his career, if he had said, ‘I’m never going to pay sanctioning fees.’ Do you think anyone would ever know him outside of his hometown?” said Abel about Crawford.
Abel is right. If Crawford had said from the beginning of his career that he would never pay a sanctioning fee, he wouldn’t have won world titles in two divisions. He’d be a career-long contender, and he wouldn’t have gotten the opportunities to fight guys like Errol Spence, Canelo, and Ricky Burns.
Sanchez Questions Honor
“I think it’s not too honorable not to be paying what he agreed to before the fight [against Canelo]. If he had said before the fight, ‘I’m not going to pay,’ then the WBC would not have sanctioned the bout. But he agreed to pay. He agreed to that amount.”
$300K vs a $50M Payday
Crawford reportedly was paid $50 million for the fight with Canelo. It was clear afterwards that a rematch would likely happen, giving him another big payday. The $300,000 sanctioninng fee that the WBC was asking for was very little compared to what he made. It would have been worth it for Crawford to pay because he would still have all four titles in his possession for the rematch with Alvarez.
“I think it’s a disgrace that he’s not going it,” said Sanchez about Crawford’s decision not to pay the sanctioning fee.
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