It’s not looking good for WBC. Last year, after Terence Crawford defeated Canelo Alvarez to become the undisputed super middleweight champion, ‘Bud’ refused to bend to the sanctioning fees demands made by the World Boxing Council. He accused them of riding the coattails of boxers without providing any real value. Crawford was subsequently stripped of his WBC title. It didn’t matter much since the three-division undisputed great announced his retirement anyway. When the same demand was made to Shakur Stevenson after his recent bout with Teofimo Lopez, he too joined the cause and vacated the WBC belt rather than pay the exorbitant fees demanded by the sanctioning body. Now, the entire fiasco has Mike Tyson worked up over it all. 

Currently, ‘Iron Mike’ is launching the Mike Tyson Invitational, an amateur boxing showcase/tournament aimed at developing and reviving American boxing talent. The three-day invitational event is scheduled for March 12–14 in Las Vegas at the Radiant Brand Complex. So, ahead of the tournament, he appeared in an interview with TMZ Sports where he was asked about the debacle. 

Mike Tyson urges others to follow Terence Crawford and Shakur

Despite being extremely close to WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman, the heavyweight legend has made his stance on the issue. “Listen, I like the WBC. I respect [them], but no one needs a ranking body,” Tyson told TMZ Sports’ Mike Babcock. “Fighters fight fighters. And that’s how [they] hold the belt. You don’t need a belt to define [that] you’re the best. Your skills define if you’re the best. You don’t need [any] organizations.”

He went on to argue that most boxers simply don’t earn enough to justify paying sanctioning fees to organizations like the WBC. “A guy like me, I should pay some fees. I don’t mind paying fees. If you [are] making the money I make. But the money these guys [are] making, a million bucks, they’ve got to pay some fees? No, no, no,” Tyson asserted.

There is a widespread misconception about fighter pay in boxing. Many assume boxers earn purses comparable to stars like Canelo Alvarez, Ryan Garcia, or Gervonta Davis. In reality, only a small percentage of fighters reach that level of financial success. The vast majority struggle to make a stable living throughout their careers. And when those fighters finally win a title or get a place in the rankings and begin expecting better paydays, Tyson believes sanctioning fees feel excessive and unfair.

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“What are we paying the fees for? What protection are we getting by paying these fees? Am I going to have a retirement fund? No. I’m not going to do that,” Tyson stated. “I’m giving you fees to just bankrupt my family.” For him, only the most gullible would agree to pay such sanctioning fees.

Mike Tyson stated that promoters take advantage of fighters anyway before sanctioning bodies step in to claim their share of the revenue generated by the boxers’ hard work. So that makes it all the more harder to earn a living as a boxer.

When asked about Terence Crawford and Shakur Stevenson pushing back against the WBC, Tyson quickly voiced his support for the duo. “Oh, you[‘ve] got to fight back. When they fight back, all the other fighters will fight back,” Tyson said.

As for Stevenson’s dispute with the WBC, the Newark native reportedly raised serious allegations—claims that only reinforce Tyson’s criticism of the sanctioning body.

Shakur Stevenson calls the WBC ‘crooks’

It happened just days after he defeated Teofimo Lopez to win the WBO junior welterweight title at Madison Square Garden. The former lightweight champion blasted the WBC on social media after they made their demand for fees apparent to him. The WBC cited its rules regarding champions who win titles in new weight classes in order to justify their fees. Rather than pay up, Shakur decided to simply vacate his WBC lightweight title.

Taking to X, he alleged the organization stripped him due to a $100,000 sanctioning fee he refused to pay. “100k to some crooks who don’t deserve it?” Stevenson wrote. He added, “The WBC didn’t even have [anything] to do with this fight, and it’s eating them alive. Take your belt, it [doesn’t] make me.”

Stevenson also questioned the timing of the decision, writing, “What the hell am I giving y’all 100k right now for?” He claimed it was personally motivated because of his close friendship with Terence Crawford.

Regardless, there appears to be a growing pushback against the WBC and other sanctioning bodies over the entire fallout. And at a time when Zuffa Boxing is entering the sport, this might not bode well for the three-letter organizations. But what are your thoughts on sanctioning bodies?