Terence Crawford calls for unbeaten star to fight for world title he was stripped of as new champion named

Terence Crawford wants Lester Martinez to get a second fight with newly crowned WBC super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli.

The American icon won a clean sweep of all of the undisputed super-middleweight titles with a masterful victory over Canelo Alvarez last September.

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But ‘Bud’ was stripped of the WBC belt from that collection, after failing to pay the $300,000 sanctioning fee which led to a row with the governing body.

Crawford then vacated all of his other titles and announced his retirement from boxing, with the division dramatically shaken up.

The WBC initially ordered a fight between Christian Mbilli and Hamzah Sheeraz for the vacant title, but the later withdrew.

As a result, it was announced yesterday that Mbilli has been upgraded to full champion.

After seeing the news, Crawford was quick to react and declared his stablemate should be the first challenger.

He wrote on X: “Give my bro Lester [Martinez] a title shot, because he should be champion right now.”

Mbilli can perhaps find himself fortunate to be crowned champion, given his last outing in September 2025 ended in a dramatic draw with Martinez.

Could Martinez get his shot?

The Guatemalan was believed by many to have done enough to edge the clash when the pair met for the WBC interim title last year.

Nonetheless, Martinez is currently ranked at No.3 in the rankings, behind Alvarez and Sheeraz.

Alvarez is not set to return until September so is not suitable for a world title shot for now.

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Therefore, the unbeaten star is well within his rights to try and enforce a sequel with the newly crowned divisional king.

And he will likely receive that shot once the next steps have been determined by the WBC.

Why did Crawford retire and give up the belts?

Crawford was quick to turn his back on 168lbs after ascending to the top of the division in just one fight by dethroning Alvarez.

The 38-year-old only saw any future at all at 160lbs initially, where he would have aimed to become a six-weight world champion.

But ultimately, he suggested there was no fights which would increase his already impressive legacy in the sport.

He said: “Because I’m just that nice.

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“Not to be cocky or anything it’s just when you’re so much better than the competition and you make them look how they’ve never looked before, everybody says, ‘Oh, they’re washed or this guy’s a bum’.

“Who else in today’s boxing that has a name would do anything to my legacy?