RINGSIDE
Miguel Cotto declined to pay fees in his final WBC world title fight.
the welterweight belt he won by outpointing Manny Pacquiao rather than pay $200,000 in sanctioning fees. (It should be noted that Mayweather held 154-pound belts at the time, which violated WBO rules and forced the organization to make an ultimatum. However, they didn’t strip Mayweather until he refused to pay the sanctioning fee.) Four months later, the WBC stripped Miguel Cotto of their middleweight title the week of his showdown with Alvarez due to the Puerto Rican star’s refusal to pay $300,000 in sanctioning fees. (It should be noted that part of Cotto’s refusal was due to his having to contribute, per WBC rules, to an $800,000 “step-aside” fee collected by Gennadiy Golovkin.) Final thoughts on the matter: Sulaiman and his fellow alphabet bosses need not worry too much about Crawford’s declaration. Mayweather and Cotto were future Hall of Famers making their final – or next to last – monster payday when they allowed themselves to be stripped 10 years prior to Crawford, who is at the same level and juncture, doing the same thing. Most boxers will not reach their elite stature or pay scales, and they rely on the sanctioning bodies to climb boxing’s status ladder. Having said that, it will be interesting to see how Zuffa Boxing, which launches on January 23, operates without the alphabet organizations and how their existence impacts the rest of the sport. CORRECTION: In some versions of the December 2025 issue, page 45 featured a photo of Yoshimitsu Kimura misidentified as Reito Tsutsumi. The Ring apologizes for the error.
these antics that they do.” Crawford vented about more – from the WBC’s arbitrary enforcement of their rules to what he views as favoritism for certain fighters, namely Alvarez – but that was the gist of his denunciation. That last bit about Turki Alalshikh “getting that done” alluded to the launch of Zuffa Boxing, which will not recognize the sanctioning bodies. It’s a reference I’m certain the alphabet groups and major promoters viewed as a veiled threat, likely triggering some of the backlash Crawford received. Eddie Hearn likened what Crawford did to going to a restaurant, ordering an expensive meal and skipping out on the bill. Oscar De La Hoya said Crawford had the sanctioning organizations to thank for his status and must have forgotten where he came from before adding that “the Monopoly money really got to your head.” Nakisa Bidarian, the CEO of Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, stated if Crawford didn’t agree with the WBC’s rules, he shouldn’t have fought for their belt. Some boxers, including Ryan
Crawford’s Instagram post had 128,000 likes, 28,000 forwards and nearly 9,000 comments, mostly from fans who are in favor of his stance. While not an impartial observer – I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t stoked to hear Crawford praise the Ring belt – I’m ambivalent about his actions. I get why Sulaiman was wounded. The WBC is in the business of collecting sanctioning fees. Everybody in boxing – that includes Bud – knows this. And it’s true that some of that revenue goes to charitable causes. I’ve witnessed this firsthand. But I also understand where Crawford is coming from. He’s been paying the Big Four’s sanctioning fees for more than a decade, and now that his exemplary career is winding down he’s looking to keep as much of his ring earnings as he can (especially after the IRS, trainers, cornermen, conditioning coaches, nutritionists, management/advisers/ attorneys, etc. get their cut or payments from his score). Other great fighters have done the same. In July 2015, Floyd Mayweather Jr. allowed the WBO to strip him of
Garcia, echoed this sentiment. However, as we went to press,
12 RINGMAGAZINE.COM
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker