Terence Crawford vacates IBF 140-pound world title News

Navigation: Home / News / Boxing / Terence Crawford vacates IBF 140-pound world title

Terence Crawford vacates IBF 140-pound world title

By Daily Sports on August 31, 2017

Terence Crawford's run as the undisputed junior welterweight world champion lasted for Only 11 days.

With a purse bid looming for a mandatory defense against Sergey Lipinets on Thursday, Crawford on Wednesday vacated the IBF version of the 140-pound world title knowing that making the fight with Lipinets under the organization's time frame was not possible.

"On behalf of Top Rank and Terence Crawford we would like to thank you and the IBF for allowing Terence to participate in the historic four-title unification bout on August 19. As always it was a pleasure working with the IBF," Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti wrote to IBF president Daryl Peoples to inform him of Crawford's decision to vacate the belt."

It had been a lifelong dream of Terence's to win an IBF world championship and to be recognized as undisputed, unified world champion.

"Top Rank and Terence realize that the IBF is in a complicated situation with respect to the mandatory defense for the title, given prior exemptions leading into the August 19 bout. Unfortunately, the timing of the purse bid and the mandatory defense do not permit Terence and Top Rank sufficient time to consider the next step in his career. In light of that, and wanting to spare the IBF unnecessary and prolonged procedural steps, Terence respectfully relinquishes his IBF title. Thank you once again for the opportunity and we look forward continuing our relationship in future endeavors."

Terence Crawford, right, during his bout on Aug. 19 against Julius Indongo. Crawford knocked Indongo out in the third round.

In a sensational performance on ESPN on Aug. 19 at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, about an hour from Crawford's hometown of Omaha, Crawford knocked out Julius Indongo, of Namibia, with a body shot in the third round to add Indongo's two world title belts to his own two and to become only the third fighter of the four-belt era to unify them all.

The other two were middleweight champions Bernard Hopkins, who unified against Oscar De La Hoya in 2004, and Jermain Taylor, who won them all from Hopkins in 2005. (Yahoosports)

•Photo shows Terence Crawford.

Source Daily Sports

Posted August 31, 2017