By Mauricio Sulaimán
Son of José Sulaimán – President of the WBC
I suppose that most of those who are reading my column knew that last Friday, Mike Tyson returned to the ring and faced Jake Paul.
There is so much to comment on everything that happened. and it is hard for me to put my thoughts in order. Let’s see how it turns out. I will not even hint on any negatives and will focus on the positive as this was a memorable event overall.
Mike Tyson is a legendary figure who will be talked about in 500 years and for eternity. He won the WBC world heavyweight championship at the age of 20 and was feared like few others during his reign. He was Undisputed after Don King made the heavyweight tournament, and regained his WBC crown after being released from prison.
His career in the ring was turbulent for two decades, a life full of ups and downs, with social scandals, imprisonment for an unjust rape conviction that never existed. In addition to addictions, the loss of a fortune of more than 400 million dollars, he was also an actor in some films and, without a doubt, one of the most recognized personalities in the world. He has worked hard in getting his life together and has succeeded, as today he is happy, working, and living the life of joy and success.
Jake Paul, a young social media influencer who has millions of followers, has taken up boxing as his banner. His time in the ring has brought millions of eyeballs to boxing to cheer his performances in fights against other influencers, basketball players, and eventually, against boxers.
Netflix made its debut with the transmission of a boxing event. It is one of the global platforms with the greatest reach that achieved such an audience that even the servers were saturated and, at times, the signal was lost. To have had a boxing show on Netflix is gigantic. Hopefully, the network will continue to support our sport and not just done this one-off event.
The AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, is one of the most beautiful, largest, and most spectacular stadiums in the world.Iit’s a shame how bad my beloved team is at this time (I had to mention it).
It was wonderful to see the promotion that was given in the Don King style with innovative actions that brought the news to the entire world and got the attention so that everyone tuned in to watch the event.
Giant inflatables of Tyson and Paul were placed on the streets of New York, social media clips of Tyson training fiercely led the world to dream of seeing the powerhouse in the ring, just as he looked almost 40 years ago. In addition, there were games to measure the force of the blow with Jake’s face, the Dallas cowgirls and their show with the AC/DC song, and in the audience were Ralph Macchio and William Zabka to promote the Netflix series “Cobra Kai,” the nostalgic “Karate Kid,” and others with the protagonists sitting at ringside, like the “Squid Game.”
The sale of a pair of tickets in a suite next to the ring was sold at two million dollars. In short, everything you can imagine and more happened before, during, and after the actions in the ring.
A true show at the highest level, and all around the sport of boxing.
The two world championship fights were spectacular. Welterweight world champion Mario Barrios hurt and knocked down challenger Abel Ramos and seemed to be going to easily defend his belt, but everything changed in the sixth round when he went to the canvas, and he had to dig deep and apply himself thoroughly to rescue a draw in a bloody and dramatic fight which left the ring warm for what would follow.
The rematch between the WBC world champion, who is UNDISPUTED holding also WBO, IBF and WBA, Katie Taylor, against Puerto Rican pride Amanda Serrano. They filled Madison Square Garden in New York in 2022, and starred in one of the best fights in history.
Taylor conceded the rematch and the fight was, without a doubt, The Fight of the Year that ended in a very close decision by just one point in favor of the Irishwoman. The table and scene has been set for a potential trilogy, with many posting about Serrano as the winner, the usual controversy on high caliber and highly contested fights of importance. But in reality, the big winners were boxing and women, because it was clear that the Power of Women is a reality, it is great. Both Katie and Amanda must be praised for giving the world 20 rounds of incredible action.
Then came the main event. Seeing Mike Tyson walk around the ring like an uncaged tiger before the start of the fight took us back to his glory days, memories of those brutal knockouts and dominance of the world as the baddest man in the planet. What happened during the eight rounds is inconsequential, the real treat for the world was the buildup of the event. It is a blessing for all of us who love boxing, the boxer, and Tyson himself that nothing awkward happened.
A 58-year-old man simply cannot do what he did in his youth, no matter how much effort, dedication, and passion he puts into it. Mike had a medical crisis in June, but he decided to keep going. He didn’t win, he didn’t shine, and finally, he came out on his feet, safe and sound.
He managed to say goodbye in the ring, show his children what a legend is and what he can achieve, and he also pocketed a significant amount of money that will help him live a dignified life for the rest of his life, because his wife Kiki is there with him to take care of him and manage him.
Jake Paul is a young man whom I personally like. He is very famous, very rich, but he takes boxing with all the responsibility that this sport deserves. He trains with dedication and dreams of one day becoming a champion. He has his detractors, just like everyone who achieves fame. If one day he decides to make a serious career in boxing and search for glory of becoming a champion, I say, without a doubt, that he has possibilities to greatly improve. Paul respected Tyson, and in the end it was what it was, a great event seen by humanity, of great entertainment around sports in a world full of bad news, natural disasters, wars, anxiety, and crises of all kinds.
Friday, November 15 was a day of happiness and greatness.
Did you know that…?
Logan Paul, Jake’s brother, fought several years ago in an amateur fight against KSI that ended in a draw. The event took place in the U.K., one of the first of this new popular events of boxing between social media influencers. Jake fought on that card, too, and won a WBC amateur belt, as our amateur program supported the event and other Paul brothers activities. In their own way, they live in boxing, and the final effect is that many fighters have had activity, important fights, and money, thanks to the involvement of the Paul brothers. The perfect example is Amanda Serrano.
Today’s Anecdote
The WBC organized a Watch Party to see this event. Friends of the Legion of Honor, led by Luis Menendez, Salvador Briman, Ciro Nucci, Manuel Othon Diaz, champions Sebastian and Gabriela Fundora, Pitbull Cruz, Dr. Pablo Orozco, Josejas, and many more friends, as well as family met at The Palm Restaurant in Mexico City to enjoy this show and raise funds to support the great champion, Israel Vazquez, who is fighting the damn cancer. The spirit of Jose Sulaiman was there, everyone without exception stepped forward to support one of the sons of Don Jose, Israel, and once again the greatness of the Mexican boxing community was evident.
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