All is not well between Welterweight champion Terence Crawford and his former promoter Top Rank. On Wednesday the 34 year old filed a lawsuit against the organization alleging, among other things, racial bias from chairman Bob Arum.
In the suit, Crawford alleges that Arum “continues to make racist and bigoted statements and purposefully damage the reputations of Black boxers.” It further states “Arum’s sordid history with athletes of color, especially Black fighters, and his bias favoring white and Latino fighters is well-documented and known throughout the boxing world… Arum makes no secret of his deep-seated bias against Black fighters.”
Arum was quick to call the suit “frivolous…reckless and indefensible”. He would add “I have no doubt the Court will see Crawford’s case for the malicious extortion attempt that it is.”
Crawford initially signed with Top Rank back in 2011, and won titles in three different weight classes. However he and the 90 year old chairman had a very public falling out in recent years culminating in his post fight conference after defeating Shawn Porter:
The suit is seeking upwards of $5.4M in damages, money Crawford alleges he lost out on because of breach of contract as well as fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation on Top Rank’s part. At the heart of the matter is Top Rank and Arum’s failure to deliver a bout between Crawford and IBF/WBC Welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr.. A contest between the two Welterweight kings has been something fight fans have been hoping to see for quite some time now.
Crawford is being represented by attorney Bryan Freedman who also represented boxer Mikey Garcia in his suit against Top Rank in 2014. No date has been set to litigate the matter in court as of yet.