Crawford Vacates WBA Welterweight Title, Stanionis Elevated

Terence Crawford has informed the WBA that he’s vacating his welterweight title and keeping his recently won 154-lb belt with the organization. The move by Crawford means WBA ‘regular’ 147-lb champion Eimantas Stanionis is the new full belt-holder

Crawford’s move to vacate his WBA 147-lb title was expected because the division has no big names to fight apart from IBF champ Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, and Crawford has no interest in fighting him. The 36-year-old Crawford recently came off of a long year-long layoff to defeat WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov by a close 12-round unanimous decision on August 3rd at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

Crawford’s Focus Remains on Canelo

Since winning the WBA belt at 154, Crawford hasn’t shown any interest in defending it or fighting any other champions in a unification.

It’s believed that Crawford only wants to fight Canelo Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) and no one else. If this is true, it’s unclear why Crawford also didn’t vacate his WBA 154-lb title. However, it could be that he’s holding onto the WBA title in hopes that he’ll be offered an absurd amount of money to fight Vergil Ortiz Jr. or Tim Tszyu.

Crawford may sit on his WBA 154-lb title the same way he did his four welterweight titles. He became the undisputed 147-lb champion last year in July when he defeated IBF/WBA/WBC champion Errol Spence. However, instead of defending his belts, Crawford sat inactive for 13 months before facing Madrimov for his WBA 1544[lb belt.

New Opportunities for Stanionis

Newly elevated WBA welterweight champion Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs) will be one of the three belt-holders that IBF champ Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and his promoter Eddie Hearn will target for a unification. Stanionis has already spoken to Hearn about a fight with Boots, but he didn’t accept the offer.

Hearn must make a significant offer to get Stanionis to agree to the fight because he won’t accept a fight with Ennis if his price isn’t met. That goes for WBO champion Brian Norman Jr. and WBC champ Mario Barrios.