Unbeaten American Terence Crawford has vacated his WBA welterweight world title, elevating compatriot Brian Norman Jr from interim to full world champion status.
Crawford, 36, won a world title in a fourth division when he beat Israil Madrimov to claim the WBA light-middleweight crown earlier this month.
The move signals Crawford’s intention of staying at light-middleweight in pursuit of unification fights.
Norman Jr is undefeated in 26 pro bouts with 20 stoppages.
The 23-year-old captured the interim WBA title with a stoppage win over Giovani Santillan in May.
A former lightweight world champion, Crawford – who has won all 41 pro bouts – was also undisputed champion at light-welterweight and welterweight.
His win over Uzbek Madrimov set up a lucrative bout against Mexican star Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, but Saudi Arabia powerbroker Turki Alalshikh has since cooled talk of the super-fight taking place.
Crawford is mandatory for WBO light-middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora, while Alalshikh is keen on the Omaha-fighter facing interim title holder Vergil Ortiz Jr.
The highly-rated IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis has also been mentioned as a possible future opponent.
