Is TKO freezing out sanctioning bodies from Canelo-Crawford?
The new TKO boxing promotion ultimately hopes to award its own title belts.
In the meantime, the group is giving all four sanctioning bodies the cold shoulder. Traditionally, representatives would award their four belts to the winner of Saturday night’s undisputed super-middleweight title fight between Canelo Alvarez and fellow four-division champion Terence Crawford in Las Vegas.
But World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman told BS Monday he has not received communication from fight promoter TKO on a number of requests, including permission to deliver his belt to the winner.
Sulaiman said all four sanctioning bodies are in such limbo, and while one official for TKO said the matter may be resolved during fight week, which starts with Tuesday’s grand arrivals, Sulaiman is miffed and seeking answers, saying, “I surely hope” a resolution arrives.
“The fact that the belts being contested for [cannot be presented] … it is in the rules and regulations. It is in the contracts. It is common practice worldwide,” Sulaiman said.
“How can you expect the best fighters in the world to compete for a championship when the rules are not respected and the official representatives – we’re talking the four presidents of the four organizations – are denied. It is completely unbelievable and unacceptable to think the presidents are not permitted to perform their duties.”
TKO, funded heavily by Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh and headed by UFC CEO Dana White, is moving to lobby Congress to alter long-existing federal legislation that prohibits promoters from awarding fighters belts and ranking fighters, as TKO plans to do with its new organization that aims to launch next year.
The four sanctioning bodies – the WBC, World Boxing Organization, World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation – are often subject to skepticism and ridicule for charging 3% fees for title fights and tweaking their rankings to suit the best interests of themselves or favored promoters.
And now, on a fight card some see as the beginning of TKO’s takeover of boxing, this friction has the potential of boiling over.
On a Spanish-language podcast, Sulaiman insisted he will find his way to the ring.
“You can have two security guards in that corner trying to take me out because I will enter that ring,” he said.
He told BS, “There has been absolutely no response. No word on … everything that’s usually done in an undisputed fight with two fighters who have been world champions for the last 14 years [Canelo] and 12 years [Crawford]. I’m disappointed.
“I have not spoken to Dana White. I sent him a letter a couple months ago and did not get a response. They appointed a person to communicate with the WBC and he has not responded to that specific question. We always do a commemorative belt for May and September. We go above and beyond to help support the promotion. And at this moment, they haven’t shown the courtesy of even replying to the situation.”
Sulaiman stopped short of labeling this a mission statement by the new promotion to blackball the sanctioning bodies.
“It would be very irresponsible to deliver an opinion like that,” he said. “I’m just trying to respond to a factual matter.
“I have requested countless times – on the phone and in writing – to confirm the credentials, the seating arrangement and the protocol for the WBC to present the belt to the winner. Without response.
“I like to be positive and constructive and not speculate on conspiracy theories. I am hopeful it is just a misunderstanding or their abundance of work.
“Hopefully, we’ll be cleared.”
