WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman rails at the suggestion that his decision to strip Shakur Stevenson of his lightweight belt was a rash act motivated by greed.

In a Tuesday interview with BoxingScene that followed a story and social-media post that defended Stevenson, Sulaiman argued he deserved to tell his side of the story. The longtime WBC president began by saying the stripping followed three months of dialogue.

“I received a phone call from Shakur’s management, requesting him to fight Teofimo Lopez at super-lightweight (140lbs),” Sulaiman explained to BoxingScene. “The request stated they wanted the WBC heavily involved in the event. They wanted a special belt from the WBC. And for Shakur to remain lightweight champion.

“This is consistent with what has been done for many years. Not just in the WBC, but in every organization – a fighter of one division, a champion of one division, requesting to fight a non-titled bout, becomes a WBC special event.”

Sulaiman said he explained it was consistent with WBC rules that will be in play again in May when WBC light-heavyweight champion David Benavidez fights for Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez’s WBA and WBO cruiserweight belts.

“So, next, I requested this to be put in writing, as a request, in order to officialize everything, with the WBC board, and to start the process of everything they wanted to do … this was the problem. They never came back after many attempts,” Sulaiman said.

In early December, at the WBC convention in Bangkok, Thailand, Sulaiman said he communicated Stevenson’s intentions, then reached out to Stevenson co-manager Josh Dubin by WhatsApp, phone call and email, enquiring if it was good to proceed.

Dubin told Andre Ward on the All the Smoke podcast this week that Sulaiman’s requests were akin to “a chorus,” repeatedly asking why Team Stevenson wasn’t answering and informing a $120,000 fee was required to keep the WBC lightweight belt while fighting for Lopez’s WBO 140lbs strap.

“That is the rule that has existed for decades,” Sulaiman said. “That is a rule that exists in every organization. Because you are retaining the privileges of being a world champion. Win or lose, after the fight, you decide if you come down or you stay in the other division.”

The WBC fee for fighting something other than a required title defense, Sulaiman said to BoxingScene, was at a discounted rate from the standard 3% fee from a purse.

[Editor’s note: WBC rules state that its champions are required to pay 50 percent of the normal sanctioning body fee in such instances.]

Dubin told Ward he only needed to pay the WBO $60,000 to fight for its actual belt.

As fight week in New York arrived in late January, the radio silence continued, Sulaiman said, even after he reached out to fight promoter Matchroom Boxing and the Saudi Arabian group financially backing the fight.

“They never responded to officialize anything and to make things as they had requested,” Sulaiman said. “That's it.”

Yet, at a time when the new Zuffa Boxing promotion is aiming for President Trump and Congress to create a new Ali Act while advocating for no fights with sanctioning bodies over excessive fees and unwanted involvement, many in the industry cast the WBC’s stance with Stevenson as horrific public relations.

“I did everything possible – calls, WhatsApps, emails. I copied everyone that needed to be copied. They simply disregarded me completely and went absent,” Sulaiman said.

The switch from asking for a special belt to ghosting the WBC coincided with the timing of Stevenson’s close friend Terence Crawford opting not to pay $300,000 in fees for his WBC super-middleweight belt.

“I have no idea,” if the stances are connected, Sulaiman said. “I did mention this to Dubin. I said, ‘Josh, look what Josh Terence Crawford did. And I know that they are friends. I want to avoid this from happening.’

“I did mention that … and, in no way was it a threat. It was in no way anything negative. It was a phone conversation with a person that I have spoken to many times before.”

Sulaiman said he would’ve opted to preserve harmony with the four-division champion who should be a world champion for several years to come.

Why couldn’t he just eat the loss and allowed Stevenson to fight for a WBC title another day given the concessions that have been made in the past for ex-168lbs champion Canelo Alvarez not fighting then-interim champion Benavidez or former middleweight champion Jermall Charlo fighting infrequently versus lesser foes?

“It’s so frustrating that everything goes back to the money. We were disregarded for months. I don’t understand why someone would just say, ‘Eat this,’” Sulaiman said. “What do I tell the other champions and challengers who’d want to do this?

“I swear, on my kids, that I did everything possible to save this matter. And what we did on Monday [while stripping Stevenson] is wish him the best of luck. He has been with us always since 2019, and we wish him the best of luck in super lightweight. And then … just everything turned into a negative.”

Sanctioning fees are the primary funds used to support the WBC nonprofit business model, Sulaiman said, of his Mexico City headquarters, global offices and charitable endeavors.

“The only source of income is sanction fees. The WBC has monthly operations. We have offices that we rent. We have 50 employees in Mexico City. We have many different employees around the world, offices around the world, we have operational expenses,” he said. “We have publications, we have the WBC Cares and social-responsibility programs which are extremely important for us. Because every cent that comes into the WBC goes back to boxing one way or another. So, going back, I feel frustrated that it's always about the money.

“Everybody who operates – in any country, in any industry, in any capacity – have operational costs. And how are these operational costs paid, they're paid with a budget, and the WBC budget comes from sanctioning fees. Many fights are very small. Only very few fights are of the millions like we see.

“The fighters have no problem [paying fees] when they are beginning and they become champions. And they have this great pride for representing the WBC. But then, there comes a time that they feel that there are no rules. That there is no structure. That they don't need anyone. That is, the decision of each individual. Everybody knows the rules, and this is the first time it has been an issue [with Stevenson].”

So now Sulaiman has a title vacancy to fill, with Cuba’s Jadier Herrera 18-0 (16KOs) standing as interim lightweight champion and Mexico’s William Zepeda as the top-ranked contender.

Sulaiman said he expects some resolution on the matter by next week.

‘We're gonna have a clear picture of everyone's involvement and availability to come up with a plan of action,” he said.

As for Stevenson?

“He has always been a part of the WBC and he will always be welcome in the WBC as long as our doors are open,” Sulaiman said.

As long as he brings his dues, of course.

Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.