The WBO has once again mandated interim WBO super welterweight champion Terence Crawford and WBO world champion Sebastian Fundora to negotiate terms for a mandatory bout. The two had been ordered to face each other earlier this year after Crawford used his WBO “super champion” status to enforce a mandatory, but negotiations were postponed after Fundora cited medical reasons for not able to meet the WBO’s deadline for negotiating. However, with Crawford having attained the WBO interim belt earlier in August and Fundora likely recovered from his medical postponement, the WBO has once more revisited their mandate.
In an official letter sent to both Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KO’s) and Sebastian Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KO’s), as well as their representatives, the two have 30 days to reach an agreement for a mandatory super welterweight (154 lbs) title bout. The negotiation period has been set from August 28th to September 27th, and will see Fundora defend his WBO title against Crawford if a deal has been agreed upon.
Though there will be customary purse bid proceedings if the two fail to reach an agreement, there is a chance the negotiations will collapse before the purse bid can even commence, with Fundora tipped to vacate his WBO title instead due to reports of him having negotiated with Errol Spence Jr. (28-1, 22 KO’s) for a fight in October.
A refusal by Fundora to face Terence Crawford would culminate in him losing his WBO title as he would then reject the sanctioning body’s mandate. In this scenario, Crawford could potentially find himself become the WBO champion if he were elevated from his current interim champion status―which would compound with his other recently-won WBA title to make him the unified champion of the 154 lbs division.
Financial incentives would likely spur Sebastian Fundora to face Spence instead, as they would reportedly fight at the highly-lauded and expansive AT&T Stadium, home to billion-dollar NFL franchise of the Dallas Cowboys. The fact Spence has not fought since his July 29th undisputed welterweight (147 lbs) loss to Terence Crawford last year, makes a Spence an even more attractive option as opposed to a unification fight with Crawford. While this decision would come paired with the loss of Fundora’s WBO title, he will still in possession of the WBC super welterweight belt.
However, there is one factor that might force Fundora to reach an agreement with Crawford’s team; a press release that the WBC had sent out months ago which dictated the winner of Crawford-Madrimov would become the next 154 lbs WBC mandatory contender.
Within the press release, the WBC explicitly stated that, “The WBC Board also voted in favor of officially sanctioning the Crawford vs Madrimov as a final elimination bout for the mandatory position in the Super Welterweight division“. Though it has yet to be confirmed by the WBC themselves, Crawford’s unanimous decision (UD) victory over Israil Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KO’s) on August 3rd indicates he is currently the WBC 154 lbs mandatory challenger.
In this sense, the WBC could further add fuel to the fire by ordering Fundora to put his WBC title on the line against Crawford, even if he were to have vacated his WBO title―which would culminate in Fundora losing both world titles if he were to refuse the WBC’s potential mandate also.
Thus far, there has yet to be word on whether the two are negotiating, but in the absence of there not being news on any sort of termination of talks, it is presumed the two parties are currently cooperating together.
