{"id":546975,"date":"2026-04-23T19:42:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T19:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/546975\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T19:42:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T19:42:10","slug":"mauricio-sulaiman-calls-crawford-retirement-cowardly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/546975\/","title":{"rendered":"Mauricio Sulaim\u00e1n Calls Crawford Retirement Cowardly"},"content":{"rendered":"

Terence Crawford left boxing unbeaten and with little left to prove, yet Mauricio Sulaim\u00e1n has reopened an old dispute by describing the former champion\u2019s retirement as \u201ccowardly\u201d in an interview this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cFight in September for the world title. He has many options: Benavidez, Charlo, a rematch with Crawford, who retired cowardly, Bivol, and Beterbiev. He is in a position where he can choose,\u201d said WBC president Sulaiman to Tiempo Extra.<\/p>\n

This looks more personal than a professional disagreement over paperwork. Sulaim\u00e1n\u2019s \u201ccowardly\u201d comment is clearly a retaliatory strike for the bridge Crawford burned on his way out.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Add<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n


\n \"Follow
\n <\/a> <\/p>\n

When Crawford beat Canelo in September 2025, he effectively retired as the \u201cKing of the Hill\u201d and then told the neighborhood association (the WBC) that their membership fees were a scam.<\/p>\n

During his Instagram Live rant, Crawford refused to pay and devalued the WBC\u2019s entire existence. Calling the famous green belt a \u201ctrophy\u201d that \u201cdoesn\u2019t mean s***\u201d is a direct hit to Sulaim\u00e1n\u2019s legacy and the prestige he tries to maintain for the WBC.<\/p>\n

The WBC claims they discounted their usual 3% fee down to 0.6% ($300,000) to be \u201cfair,\u201d and Crawford still wouldn\u2019t touch it. By paying the other three bodies (WBA, IBF, WBO) but freezing out the WBC, Crawford singled them out as the one organization he deemed unworthy of his money.<\/p>\n

Crawford explicitly stated that The Ring belt is the \u201creal belt\u201d because it\u2019s free. This is a nightmare for sanctioning bodies because it encourages other stars to realize they don\u2019t actually need the expensive sanctioning body \u201calphabet\u201d titles to be considered the best.<\/p>\n

Calling a 42-0 fighter who just moved up and schooled Canelo a \u201ccoward\u201d is objectively absurd in a boxing sense. However, in Sulaim\u00e1n-speak, \u201ccowardly\u201d likely refers to Crawford\u2019s refusal to \u201cstand and fight\u201d in the boardroom.<\/p>\n

By retiring, Crawford prevented the WBC from receiving the $300,000 he already owed them for the belt. Also, his retirement meant that future sanctioning fees from a massive Crawford vs. Benavidez or Crawford vs. Bivol fight.<\/p>\n

It also prevented the WBC from having the opportunity to strip him formally as a punishment while he was still active.<\/p>\n

Ken Woods has been a senior writer at Boxing News 24 since 2013, covering the sport from every angle. With years of ringside reporting, he delivers fight news, results, and analysis that cut through the noise. Ken\u2019s work consistently spotlights champions, contenders, and rising prospects, giving fans a sharp, knowledgeable view of the global boxing scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Click here to subscribe to our FREE newsletter<\/a>Related Boxing News:<\/p>\n

\t\t\tCategories Quick Hits<\/a>, Terence Crawford<\/a> \t\t<\/p>\n

Boxing News 24<\/a> \u00bb Quick Hits<\/a> \u00bb Mauricio Sulaim\u00e1n calls Crawford retirement cowardly<\/p>\n

Last Updated on 2026\/04\/23 at 12:28 PM \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Terence Crawford left boxing unbeaten and with little left to prove, yet Mauricio Sulaim\u00e1n has reopened an old…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277447,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-546975","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=546975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=546975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=546975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=546975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}