Mauricio Sulaiman says Terence Crawford was aware of the WBC’s reported $300,000 sanctioning fee well before his undisputed fight against Canelo Alvarez last September, offering a different version of the recent dispute over title costs
The WBC president addressed the issue during a recent interview after Crawford publicly questioned why the organization would not match terms he said were accepted by other sanctioning bodies. Sulaiman said the amount had already been communicated in advance and was not a surprise once the fight was finalized.
“He knew the amount that the WBC had assessed for that specific fight well in advance and supposedly was 300,000. That was a cap,” said to Ring Champs about Crawford before his fight with Canelo.
Sulaiman added that the figure was below the percentage the organization says it could charge under its rules. He said the WBC placed a ceiling on the fee rather than applying the full rate.
The disagreement became a talking point after Crawford responded publicly to earlier comments tied to the sanctioning process. Sulaiman avoided escalating the exchange, saying he did not want to criticize Crawford personally.
“I’m not going to talk bad about Crawford,” said Sulaiman.
He also said fighters and promoters receive contracts and terms before title fights are approved, describing the process as standard practice rather than something created for one event.
“There are contracts. Once as a promoter, you submit, and you get the sanctioning, the rules are there,” said Sulaiman.
When a fighter makes tens of millions, a standard 3% fee suddenly becomes serious money, and that is when objections usually start.
The comments keep attention on a long-running issue in boxing, where sanctioning fees are often accepted during negotiations but become controversial once major 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 6:31 PM
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