Has Terence Crawford finally picked Dana White’s boxing model? That has been the speculation since ‘Bud’ refused to pay the mandatory sanctioning fee to the WBC, resulting in him losing the undisputed title. Well, Crawford not paying 0.6% of his purse has sparked plenty of questions about why he made that call despite earning millions. The reasons could be many, but Oscar De La Hoya now suspects TKO is the force behind his decision.

Generally, boxers pay 2 to 3% of their purse to non-profit sanctioning bodies to cover operational expenses. However, in Crawford’s case, the WBC only charged him 0.6% of his $50M purse from the Canelo superfight, leaving just $300k as his due. Looking at ‘Bud’s massive purse, that amount seemed minuscule, yet he still chose not to pay it. Because of that, Oscar De La Hoya became convinced that Crawford is acting as a mouthpiece behind Dana White and TKO’s mission to change the landscape of boxing.

Oscar De La Hoya lambasts Terence Crawford for siding with Dana White and TKO 

“There is an agenda with TKO. They want to create one belt, one entity to control the entire sport, but it’s sad that they made you the mouthpiece? You, of all people? I thought you had integrity. I thought you had respect for boxing and the sport. So just because you made it, Crawford, and you made $50 million, you don’t want to pay that fee ever again?” De La Hoya said in a video posted on X.  

Now, how did ‘The Golden Boy’ conclude that Dana White and TKO might be influencing Terence Crawford’s decision? Yes, part of it comes from the fact that the former undisputed super middleweight champ fought Canelo Alvarez under the TKO banner. However, the bigger push came recently when UFC’s top brass, Lawrence Epstein and California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster, jointly presented their advocacy for the UBO model at a congressional hearing, which is a major step toward making that model a reality.

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At the same time, Terence Crawford has grown noticeably cold toward the WBC and didn’t seem to care much about losing his undisputed title. Well, De La Hoya didn’t outright connect all the dots, but he made it clear that the entire situation feels wrong to him, and he’s ready to step in to protect boxing from Dana White’s and TKO’s grasp if needed.

“That is wrong. There’s an agenda here by the TKO group, and I’m going to do everything in my power to do whatever I can to protect boxing because this is a sport that gave me everything.” ‘The Golden Boy added in his social media video.   

Now, as Oscar De La Hoya gears up to take on TKO’s forces alone, Terence Crawford has resurfaced with another rant against the WBC. This time, however, he delivered his message with a lot more clarity.  

‘Bud’ believes WBC should be paying him for stepping into the ring  

After getting stripped of his undisputed title, Terence Crawford mocked the WBC with a WWE belt during a livestream, then flashed his Ring Magazine belts for good measure. The reason? Well, ‘Bud’ wanted to make the point that he still has plenty of trophies to count, so losing one didn’t bother him at all. 

However, that still didn’t fully explain why he refused to pay a simple $300k, a nothing amount for him. Now, the former undisputed super middleweight champ has made it clear that he doesn’t want to pay the WBC more than the other sanctioning bodies.  

In a live stream, Crawford said, “Everybody accepted what I was giving them. The WBC think that you’re better than everybody, and you’ve got the f— green belt, which don’t mean f— shit. You want me to pay you more than the other sanctioning bodies because you feel like you’re better than them.”     

But that’s not the only reason Crawford doesn’t want to pay them. He also seems genuinely disappointed that sanctioning bodies take a cut from his hard-earned money, and he feels they should be paying him rather than the other way around. 

“You can take the f— belt. It’s a trophy anyway! What the f— am I paying you every time I step foot in the f— ring? I’m the motherf— that’s putting my life on the line, not you! You ain’t stepping your motherf—  ass in that ring. Why should I have to pay to carry your belt? You should be paying me!” Crawford added. 

So, it seems the rift between ‘Bud’ and the WBC is getting increasingly sour, and with personalities like Oscar De La Hoya jumping into the mix, things are heating up even more. That said, do you actually think Terence Crawford wants to see Dana White and TKO taking over boxing? Let us know in the comment section below.