Terence Crawford's days at welterweight appear to be numbered, and it seems the organizing committee feels the same.
On Monday, the WBC demoted the former undefeated 147-pound champion to “retired champion.”
Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) has not fought since winning the division's final title with a ninth-round knockout of Errol Spence Jr. last July.
The Nebraska native is next scheduled to fight WBA champion Israil Madrimov at 154 pounds on Aug. 3. The interim WBO belt is also on the line, and by the time the bout takes place, it could be a fight for the full belt, as current champion Sebastian Fandora (who also holds the WBC junior middleweight title) is expected to be stripped of his WBO status in order to pursue a showdown with Spence instead of going ahead with the mandatory bout.
“The WBC Governing Body has voted to accept our proud WBC welterweight champion, Terence Crawford, as the suspended champion at welterweight,” the WBC said in a statement. “The WBC Governing Body also voted to officially sanction the Crawford vs. Madrimov bout as the final selection bout for mandatory super welterweight status. Terence Crawford will let the WBC know at what weight class he would like to fight after the fight in August.”
The WBC did not disclose the future plans for current interim welterweight titleholder Mario Barrios, who won the belt in September with a unanimous decision victory over Yordenis Ugas, who defended the interim title against Fabian Maidana in May.
Crawford, 36, has been fighting at welterweight since 2018 and claims a move to 154 pounds is imminent.
In November, the IBF stripped Crawford of his title and promoted Jaron Ennis to titleholder.
Last week, Brian Norman knocked out Giovanni Santillan to win the WBO interim welterweight title.
Eimantas Stanionis is currently the WBA's “regular” welterweight champion and the organization will be next to rule on Crawford's status as champion in the weight class.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He is also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Mixed Martial Arts Journalists Association. He can be reached at @ManoukAkopyan on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, or by email at manouk.[dot]Acopian[at]You can contact us at gmail.com or www.ManoukAkopyan.com
