Terence Crawford has vacated his WBA welterweight title. This move has come just weeks after he won the WBA light-middleweight title by defeating Israil Madrimov on August, 4.
With Crawford deciding to vacate his welterweight title, it granted interim champion Brian Norman Jr. the status of full champion in the welterweight category.
Crawford has made clear his intentions to focus on the super welterweight division, though he remains undisputed champion at both welterweight and light-welterweight.
The undefeated American champion, in a letter to the WBA, expressed his intentions to remain champion at 154 pounds while vacating his title at 147 pounds.
This strategic decision lets him focus on competing in a higher weight class where he hopes to unify titles and further cement his legacy.
With Crawford vacating the welterweight title, Eimantas Stanionis is now the only recognised champion in that division.
Stanionis was previously a regular titleholder but will now get to fight for his championship status sans Crawford’s shadow hanging over him.
This not only recasts the welterweight landscape, but it keeps Crawford in great stead at super welterweight, a division where he is already a champion.
His recent victory over Madrimov not only won Crawford the WBA light-middleweight title but set the stage for possible big-name matches-most notably speculation of a future fight against Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
Though the talk of this super-fight has cooled off a bit in recent times, Crawford’s decision to focus on super welterweight may raise the chances of such matchups again.
While Crawford’s career is still active in the super welterweight division, many are anticipating unification fights against other champions such as Sebastian Fundora, unified WBO and WBC champion.
This not only fortifies his chance at acquiring more titles but cements his position further as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.
