Undisputed welterweight champion, Terence Crawford, has identified the only belt that he believes truly matters in the sport of boxing, despite him cherishing all four titles at 147lbs.
‘Bud’ added the division’s WBC, WBA and IBF titles to his collection when he stopped Errol Spence Jr last month, their long-awaited matchup turning out to be far more one-sided than many predicted.
Now, on the Joe Rogan Podcast, Crawford has admitted that there are too many belts in the modern era of boxing and that, if he had his way, the Ring Magazine title would be the only one that is recognised.
“Fights should be mandatory to happen, so you can clean up the sport of boxing and there can only be one champion in one division, like in the UFC.
Floyd [Mayweather] and Canelo [Alvarez], they showed us time and time again that it’s not about the belts. When you get to a certain point in your career, you’re bigger than the belts. Coming up, everybody wants to be a champion, but once you get your name out there and you become a megastar, the belts don’t mean nothing, we are paying for the belts.
I’m paying for you [sanctioning bodies] to come out here and watch me fight, to give me a belt that I’m already paying for, you are not paying me, I’m paying you.
The only one that really matters is the Ring Magazine Belt, because it is free. Why should I have to pay to be a champion? That [Ring Magazine title holder] is the number one guy in the division, that’s how it should be.”
Crawford became the first welterweight Ring Magazine champion in eight years when he defeated Spence, becoming the first 147lber titlist since Floyd Mayweather retired in 2015.