Perhaps Shakur Stevenson should have listened to Steve Kim. As word spread that the WBC had stripped Stevenson of his lightweight title, Kim teased, “All Shakur Stevenson had to do was claim ‘mental health,’ and he could’ve not fought for a few years and gotten the full endorsement of Mauricio Sulaiman and kept his WBC lightweight title….” Stevenson made a costly mistake, it seems.

In an era where most champions seem to avoid one another, he moved up a division and defeated one of the best for the lightweight welterweight title. Later, claiming that he’s not a “40-pounder,” he planned to go back to 135 pounds, only to find himself without a belt now. To Shakur Stevenson, it echoed events from a month ago, when the WBC stripped close friend and mentor Terence Crawford of his super middleweight title after the Canelo win for nonpayment of sanctioning fees. He linked it to his $100,000 fee.

Terence Crawford sides with Shakur Stevenson after the WBC takes away his lightweight belt

The development has drawn widespread attention, especially given it’s been just four days since Stevenson handed the most humbling defeat to Teofimo Lopez. The win allowed the Newark native entry into the elite circle of four-division championships, the third youngest to ever do so. Making his intentions clear, the 28-year-old had stated that he planned to move back to lightweight if there were no meaningful matchups at 140 pounds.

However, his idea failed to resonate with the WBC, which released a statement. Wishing Stevenson the best for his future endeavors and stating that they will update on the process to crown a new lightweight champion in the coming days, the WBC notice read, “In light of champion Shakur Stevenson now being the reigning WBO super lightweight champion and consistent with WBC rules and regulations, the WBC has declared vacant its lightweight world title.”

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But the sanctioning body’s statements only ended up stirring controversy. Linking the WBC move to a purported non-payment of fees that amounted to $100,000, Stevenson responded on social media, saying, “100k to some crooks who don’t deserve it? Nah, Leilani. I’d rather give it to u baby girl… The WBC didn’t even have shit to do with this fight, and it’s eating them alive. Take your belt; it don’t make me 😂😂.”

It didn’t take long before he connected the dots and likened the step to one taken against friend Terence Crawford. Insisting that he paid sanctioning fees to the WBC after his last fight, and now the organization is stripping him of his belt, even though this time around he was fighting for the WBO belt at 140, he felt it was happening because of the organization’s past conflict with Crawford, and not because of anything he did.

Bud himself immediately spoke out, questioning how the WBC could still be upset with him and why they are now directing their frustration toward Stevenson. “(WBC) ain’t no way ya’ll still this mad,” Crawford noted in his Instagram story. “It’s cool bro(Stevenson), the Ring belt was free.”

To be fair to the WBC, they haven’t said anything about the due fee, which they did explicitly in Crawford’s case. Yet that such a move would come so quickly, when Stevenson has clearly spoken about returning to 135 pounds and many others have now started discussing a potential matchup against IBF champion Raymond Muratalla, has drawn sharp reactions.

Why the WBC’s decision is stirring debate

That backdrop may be why it prompted reporters like Steven Kim to recall the instance with Jermall Charlo. Though stripped of the WBC belt in May 2024, Charlo remained a titleholder despite a two-year break. Reportedly, the WBC decided to prioritize Charlo’s mental health and personal issues, opting to support him rather than immediately stripping the title.

Arguing against the move, Chris Mannix wrote, “The WBC handed out interim belts so Canelo didn’t have to defend against David Benavidez, but, yeah, strip @ShakurStevenson seven months after he defended it against the No. 1 contender. Explain that, @WBCMoro.”

But outside of the sarcasm, to fight fans, it’s befuddling to watch. When a boxer of Shakur Stevenson’s caliber steps in to face another top fighter, then he should have been encouraged to follow the format. That should have encouraged others to do the same.

Now, as a 140-pound titleholder, he will be forced to wait and see if a particular matchup is profitable or not. Moreover, Stevenson has reportedly made a rehydration clause a mandatory condition for any fight at the weight class. So all this now would make a matchup an even more complicated issue.