Manouk Akopyan
Sep 23, 2025
1 min read
A month after his hard-fought decision win over previously unbeaten Yoenis Tellez to win interim WBA honours, Abass Baraou has been elevated to full world champion status as a direct consequence of Terence Crawford's super middleweight move.
Terence Crawford's days as a 154-pound WBA champion were numbered, and the notion became official over the weekend when interim titleholder Abass Baraou was named as the full world champion by the sanctioning body.
The development was announced by Wasserman Boxing, Baraou's promoter. It was known over the last month that the WBA would make the move, anointing Baraou as the new champion soon after Crawford completed his clash with Canelo Alvarez.
"Seat at the top table confirmed for AB, who would you like to see him fight next?" Wasserman’s statement read.
Baraou (17-1, 9 KOs) scored the WBA interim title on Aug. 24 with a hard-fought, well-deserved unanimous decision win against Yoenis Tellez. Baraou dropped Tellez in the 12th round to seal victory in just his second fight on U.S. soil.
Baraou, a 30-year-old from Berlin, Germany, is The Ring's No. 9 boxer at 154 pounds. Other division title holders include Bakhram Murtazaliev (IBF), Sebastian Fundora (WBC) and Xander Zayas (WBO).
Crawford's junior middleweight campaign lasted only one fight, winning the belt during his divisional debut in August 2024 when scoring a unanimous decision win over then-unbeaten titleholder Israil Madrimov.
Crawford never defended the title and moved up 168 pounds earlier this month and beat Alvarez to become a five-division champion and three-weight undisputed beltholder. Afterwards, the 37-year-old said that should he ever fight again, it won't be at 154 pounds.
Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan
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