Inside the WBA’s Crawford-Baraou Ruling
The World Boxing Association’s latest ruling says a lot more about sanctioning body politics than it does about belts in the ring. Terence Crawford keeps hold of his shiny new WBA Super Champion status at 168 pounds, while Abass Baraou walks away as the only titleholder at super welterweight.
That outcome didn’t just fall out of the sky. It came from behind-closed-doors discussions where boxing’s oldest sanctioning body weighed its options.
The Politics Behind the Belts
The WBA championship committee, part legal minds, part ratings men, and part political operatives, faced a familiar question: how do you keep your biggest star happy while stopping your divisions from looking like a mess?
On one side of the table sat Crawford. The WBA granted the Omaha native special dispensation to ditch his 154-pound duties and chase Canelo Álvarez. He delivered in style, and the WBA was never going to strip a fighter who just shook up boxing history.
Legacy wins matter, and Crawford’s crossover market power is something the organization will cling to.
On the other side sat the super welterweight title. It had been idle for a year, propped up by interim fights and confusion. Yoenis Tellez beat Julian Williams, only to be turned over by Baraou five months later. At that point, the committee had an easy fix: elevate Baraou, wipe the slate clean, and give contenders a proper champion to chase.
World Boxing News had predicted this outcome before the pound-for-pound king and Canelo traded blows at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, watched by over 70,000 at the venue and more than 41 million households on Netflix.
What This Means for Crawford’s Future
So the compromise came into focus. Crawford remains the global flag-bearer, his belt untouched at 168, while Baraou gets recognition as Germany’s standard-bearer at 154. It’s politics 101 for a sanctioning body: protect the superstar, tidy up the division, and hope nobody notices the contradiction.
Fans rarely see the mechanics, but this is how boxing’s alphabet groups operate. Every ruling is part precedent, part PR, and part survival. In this case, the WBA managed to tick all three boxes: reward Crawford, spotlight Baraou, and keep themselves in the headlines.
About the Author
Phil Jay is a veteran boxing journalist with over 15 years of experience covering the global fight scene. As Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News since 2010, Jay has interviewed dozens of world champions and reported ringside on boxing’s biggest nights. [View all articles by Phil Jay] and learn more about his work in combat sports journalism.
