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Terence Crawford Stripped Of WBC World Super-Middleweight Title With Hamzah Sheeraz vs Christian Mbilli Ordered

Paul Kelly Written by Sports EditorPaul Kelly
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Terence Crawford Next Fight - Boxing

Three-weight undisputed king Terence Crawford has been stripped of his WBC World Super-Middleweight Title.

Hamzah Sheeraz vs Christian Mbilli has been ordered for the vacant WBC belt, with Crawford having not paid sanctioning fees for his last two fights.

Terence Crawford Stripped Of WBC World Super-Middleweight Title

Terence Crawford is no longer the WBC World Super-Middleweight Champion. The undefeated American has been officially stripped of his WBC 168-pound title.

WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman has revealed that Crawford hasn’t paid his sanctioning fees to the WBC for his last two fights and hasn’t communicated with the governing body since his victory over Canelo Alvarez back in September.

Thus, Sulaiman and the WBC have stripped ‘Bud’ of his green and gold belt, meaning he is no longer the undisputed super-middleweight king.

Crawford became a three-division undisputed champion in beating ‘Canelo’ at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas a couple of months ago, which cemented him as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in world boxing too.

The 38-year-old is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time, having won world titles across five different weight classes. The American has won every single belt in three of these weight classes, including at super-middleweight before he was stripped of his WBC belt.

Boxing legend Roy Jones Jr even branded Crawford unbeatable following his ‘Canelo’ victory, showing just how elite a fighter he really is. That being said, the WBC are no longer putting up with him as champion due to ‘Bud’ failing to pay sanctioning fees for his last two bouts.

Each governing body takes a small percentage of a fighters’ purse if they win their belt, which Crawford has seemingly refused to do for his last couple of fights.

Although this might seem unfair given that Crawford will have had to pay four different sanctioning fees to four different governing bodies as an undisputed champion, they are the rules. Thus, the WBC have officially stripped him of their coveted green and gold belt.

Hamzah Sheeraz vs Christian Mbilli Ordered For Vacant WBC Belt

Terence Crawford accepted Jake Paul as his next fight prior to Anthony Joshua getting the call to face the former YouTube star, but this wasn’t the reason for the WBC stripping ‘Bud’.

Alas, the 42-0 undefeated five-weight world champion no longer holds the WBC crown, meaning the belt is now vacant. Crawford’s loss is someone else’s gain, which happens to be either Hamzah Sheeraz’s or Christian Mbilli’s.

That’s because the WBC have ordered Sheeraz to face Mbilli for the vacant WBC belt, with the Cameroonian-French Canadian fighter currently holding the interim title.

This means that Mbilli vs Sheeraz will happen next for the fully fledged WBC World Super-Middleweight Title. A date and venue is yet to be confirmed for this 168-pound world title match-up, but it is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2026.

Sheeraz vs Mbilli was confirmed back in mid-October by several sources, but was never officially announced. However, it seems that the rumours were true as the fight is officially happening next, only this time for the full WBC crown.

Mbilli boasts an unbeaten 29-0-1 record with his only blemish a draw to Lester Martinez last time out. Sheeraz is undefeated too with a record of 22-0-1. His only blemish was also a draw, with the 26-year-old perhaps fortunate not to lose to Carlos Adames for the 160-pound WBC belt last year.

There will be a new champion in the super-middleweight division early next year, with Hamzah Sheeraz or Christian Mbilli being crowned the new WBC king following Terence Crawford being stripped of the green and gold belt.

Paul Kelly Written by Sports EditorPaul Kelly
Paul has worked in the sports journalism industry for several years now, specialising in boxing, MMA, golf and darts. This includes writing breaking news stories, in-depth features, predictions and more. Paul regularly attends live sporting events as both a journalist and as a fan, further adding to his expertise in his specialist sports. Paul is a Director at YouTube channel ESBR Boxing, as well as featuring regularly at BBC Sport NI. This has helped Paul master his knowledge of sports writing, as well as learning new skills with competence and proficiency.
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