- WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman branded Terence Crawford's retirement "cowardly" while talking up potential Canelo opponents
- Crawford's publicist Julie Goldsticker hit back: "If the sport tolerates a sanctioning body president calling a champion a coward for retiring, it is in a dire state"
- Luke says it's the WBC's worst week of the year — and Sulaiman's pettiness is doing more damage to the belt than Crawford ever could
Right Then — Sulaiman Has Gone Again
Right then. Just when you thought the WBC versus Terence Crawford story had run out of road, Oscar De La Hoya's least favourite man in boxing has poured another can on the fire. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, fresh from stripping Crawford of the super middleweight belt over the unpaid $300,000 sanctioning fee in December, has now branded Bud's retirement "cowardly" while running through potential opponents for Canelo Alvarez's September return.
The whole quote was buried in a longer interview where Sulaiman was floating Benavidez and Jermall Charlo as Canelo opponents — and then casually slipped in that a Crawford rematch wasn't impossible because Bud had "retired cowardly." Make no mistake about this. That word didn't slip out. That was a man choosing it.
Goldsticker Fires Back — And She's Right
Crawford's publicist, Julie Goldsticker, didn't sleep on it. Her response landed within hours and it's the truest line anyone has put on this story since December. "If the sport tolerates a sanctioning body president calling a champion a coward for retiring, it is in a dire state." That's it. That's the whole problem with the WBC right now in one sentence.
This is a man who beat Canelo cleanly to become a five-weight, three-time undisputed champion. He told the WBC he wasn't paying their fee because he didn't think they earned it. He walked away on his own terms with his health intact, his bank balance intact, and his record intact. The man who has spent the last six months publicly calling him names is the president of one of the four belts he was supposed to defend. "Dire state" is being polite.
Why Sulaiman Keeps Going
Let's not beat around the bush. Sulaiman keeps going because the WBC needs Crawford more than Crawford needs the WBC. The 168lb belt that was stripped from Bud is now a vacant title that nobody on the current contender list can sell. The longer Crawford is the man who fought for it last and walked off, the longer that vacancy is awkward for the WBC's marketing department. The "cowardly" line is supposed to provoke a comeback. It won't.
The other reason — and this is the bit that's actually telling — is that the WBC made a mistake on the sanctioning fee. They cut it from 3% to 0.6% specifically to make it harder for Crawford to refuse, and Crawford refused anyway. Refusing $1.5 million is one thing. Refusing $300,000 was a public, deliberate humiliation. Sulaiman's still wearing it.
Where The Belt Goes Next
The vacant 168lb WBC title is sitting in limbo. Berlanga wanted it before the wheels came off the Eubank Jr fight. Benavidez has just made history at 200lb so he's not coming back to 168 anytime soon. Mbilli has the WBC interim and is fancied for the September Canelo card. Whatever happens, the eventual WBC super middleweight champion is going to be inheriting a belt with an asterisk attached.
And the asterisk is Sulaiman's fault, not Crawford's. The man who walked into Allegiant Stadium and beat Canelo doesn't have a stained legacy. The man whose belt is on the shelf collecting dust does.
Luke's Verdict
This is the WBC's worst week of the year and the year is barely a third old. Calling a retired five-weight undisputed champion a coward in public — when the dispute is about money — makes the sanctioning body look small, petty, and scared of a man who already beat them. Sulaiman should have shaken hands when Bud walked away in December and let the belt move on. Instead he keeps poking, and every time he pokes, Goldsticker hits back, and every time she hits back, the WBC looks worse.
Crawford has done nothing this year that touches the word coward. He's done the opposite — he's walked off at the top of the sport with nothing left to prove. The only person looking small in this story is the man who keeps wishing he wasn't.
If you know, you know. Sulaiman should let it go. He won't. We'll be back here next month.