Terence Crawford just threw one of the hardest punches in his career at an opponent residing outside of the ring.
That opponent is his former promoter, Bob Arum.
In a story first reported by The New York Post, Crawford filed a blistering lawsuit in Nevada which accused Arum and his company, Top Rank, of racism and damaging his career.
The WBO champion claimed Arum’s and Top Rank’s “revolting racial bias” denied him the big fights and big paydays.
Crawford signed with Top Rank in 2011 but finally ended their relationship in November 2021 after seeing others in the division, primarily those with PBC, flourish while he languished, fighting subpar opponents on PPV bouts that were destined to flop.
Crawford claims that Arum “Simply does not care about, support, or know how to promote Black fighters,” and that he failed to build him to into a premier PPV star.
While he’s suing his former promoter for $10 million, the heaviest punches came from the blazing racial accusations leveled in the lawsuit.
His lawsuit, per the Post, states, “Crawford shines a spotlight on the systemic racism that runs through Top Rank, Top Rank’s complete inability to properly promote Black fighters, and Top Rank, Arum and [his stepson] Todd DuBoeuf’s disparate treatment of Black fighters, including Crawford.”
This might come as a shock to new-age boxing fans, but this isn’t the first time Arum has been hit with claims of racism and cultural ignorance.
Continue reading over at First and Pen.
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