WBC removed Stevenson due to $120K sanctioning fee, according to Sulaiman.
Shortly after taking the WBO junior welterweight title from Teofimo Lopez, Shakur Stevenson learned that he had been stripped of his lightweight title by the WBC.
Stevenson responded by labeling the sanctioning body as “crooks” and claimed that the title was taken from him due to an unpaid sanctioning fee of $100,000 (later clarified to be $120,000) related to the Lopez bout.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has now provided his perspective on the matter.
Sulaiman stated that Stevenson’s management contacted the WBC by phone to arrange for the event with Lopez to feature a special version of the WBC title.
“The WBC operates within the rules when a champion in one division wishes to compete against a champion in another weight class,” Sulaiman explained in an interview with Boxing Scene. “We agreed to allow Stevenson to fight, but we requested that everything be formalized in writing…and that never occurred.”
Sulaiman mentioned that Stevenson’s team did not respond after multiple attempts to finalize the agreement. Without a formal deal, Stevenson was required to pay the sanctioning fee, which was not settled, resulting in the WBC stripping him of the title. The title is now designated as “vacant” by the sanctioning body.
“It is a genuinely regrettable situation,” Sulaiman remarked. “However, the rules are explicitly clear in every organization that when a champion participates in a fight, he must comply with the rules, which include the payment of sanctioning fees.”
A comparable incident occurred months earlier involving Stevenson’s close associate, Terence Crawford, who was also stripped for failing to pay the sanctioning fees.
