Shakur Stevenson has been relieved of his WBC Lightweight World title days after he won the WBO belt in a new division.
Stevenson — WBC champion at 135lbs since November of 2023 — moved up to 140 this past weekend to dethrone Teofimo Lopez in emphatic fashion.
While he was still riding high off his career-best victory, and plotting his next move, the sanctioning body announced that the lightweight belt was now vacant.
“In light of Champion Stevenson now being the reigning WBO Super Lightweight World Champion and consistent with the WBC Rules & Regulations, the WBC has declared vacant its Lightweight World title.
Many fans and analysts, and Stevenson himself, clearly expected a little more time for him to decide in which division he wanted to compete next.
The 28-year-old from Newark took the move as a personal insult, and said that his close association with Terence Crawford — who was stripped of his WBC super-middleweight strap due to not paying sanctioning fees just days before his retirement — has affected the decision.
“And I just paid these dudes after my last fight… What the hell [am I] giving y’all 100k right now for? Because y’all got beef with Bud so come at me for it.”
“100k to some crooks who don’t deserve it? Nah Leilani I rather give it to you baby girl… The WBC didn’t even have s–t to do with this fight and it’s eating them alive. Take your belt it don’t make me.”
Having been brought into the debate, Crawford then responded on Instagram, first addressing the sanctioning body and then Stevenson.
“WBC – ain’t no way y’all are still this mad. It’s cool, bro, the Ring belt was FREE.”
The WBC is yet to comment on the response from its former champion, Stevenson.
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