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Shakur Stevenson has hit out at the WBC (World Boxing Council) after being stripped of his lightweight title, just days after his super-lightweight triumph against Teofimo Lopez.
On Saturday, Stevenson produced a masterclass to dominate the naturally-bigger Lopez, taking the WBO super-lightweight belt from his fellow American in the process. With the points victory at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Stevenson also became a four-weight champion.
But just three days after that career-defining win, Stevenson was stripped of the WBC lightweight title, which he won in November 2023 and defended three times across 2024 and 2025.
Amid multiple reports of Stevenson being stripped, the WBC updated the rankings pages on its website to display the lightweight title as vacant.
Stevenson, 28, took exception to the move, seemingly hitting out at the organisation’s sanctioning fees.
“100k to some [people] who don’t deserve it?” he wrote on X on Wednesday, before referencing his daughter: “Nah Leilani I rather give it to u baby girl.
“The WBC didn’t even have s*** to do with this fight and it’s eating them alive take your belt it don’t make me.
“And I just paid these dudes after my last fight.. What the hell im giving yall 100k right now for? Because yall got beef with Bud so come at me for it.”
The Independent has approached the WBC for comment.
In “Bud”, Stevenson was referring to his friend Terence Crawford, who had his own dispute with the WBC over sanctioning fees last year.
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After beating Canelo Alvarez in September to become the undisputed super-middleweight champion, Crawford was stripped of the WBC belt in December, with the organisation alleging that he had not paid his sanctioning fees.
Crawford, 38, seemed to confirm the WBC’s claim while launching a tirade at the organisation and its president, Mauricio Sulaiman. “Boy, you better slap your f***ing self, I ain’t paying your ass s***,” Crawford said. “The f*** you talking about, pay you $300,000?”
Against Canelo, Crawford earned around $50m, according to Sulaiman, who also said the WBC reduced his sanctioning fee from 3 per cent to 0.6 per cent. Sulaiman also claimed the majority of this number – $225,000 of an overall $300,000 – would have gone to the Boxers Fund, a charity (formed by Sulaiman’s late father Jose) helping fighters in need.
Sulaiman told The Independent at the time: “This is a very unfortunate situation, which has created much speculation and misinformation. The WBC stated the sanction fees with a reduced amount from the WBC rules, understanding the magnitude of the fight very well in advance of the fight.”
Shortly after this episode, Crawford announced his retirement from boxing as an unbeaten, five-weight champion – and the first man in the four-belt era to be undisputed in three divisions.
Crawford, who retweeted Stevenson’s posts on Wednesday, was in the ring with his friend in the moments after Stevenson’s win over Lopez. Also in the ring was British welterweight Conor Benn, whom Stevenson had called out over a potential fight this spring or summer.
“You’re too small for me, bro, you’re tiny,” said Benn, 29. “You can’t punch, you can’t keep me off you.” Stevenson countered: “My skills is too much!” He then told Eddie Hearn, who promotes both fighters: “He’s food! He’s food! He’s food!”
“You think I’m scared of you? I’m not scared of you, bro,” Benn hit back. “We can do it next. Come up to welterweight with the big dogs. You’re a little man.” However, Benn signed off by admitting it’s “your night” to Stevenson and backing off.
