By Mauricio Sulaimán – President of the WBC – Son of José Sulaimán
Boxing made a grand return to one of the most important cities in the history of Mexican sports: Texas border city Reynosa, with a great event presented by Fernando Beltran’s Zanfer, broadcast by Televisión Azteca, the home of boxing.
Former WBC world champion Miguel “Alacrán” Berchelt returned with a knockout victory against tough Venezuelan Edixon Pérez. The sensational card had the fight of the night featured by a pair of ladies, mini giants who delivered a toe-to-toe war to a sold-out crowd, thrilling the fans and bringing them to their feet during the eight rounds that the bout lasted, which resulted in a fair draw between Brisa Sarahí Olivia and Sheyla Moreno Castillo. Consequently, the WBC World Youth championship remains vacant. The fight proved once again that two-minute rounds are great for entertainment and, most importantly, for safety.
Reynosa is a city that has been stigmatized and labeled as violent, but we were pleased to see the reality. We spent five days of great celebration, carrying out a huge number of activities within the framework of the event called “For the People on Columbus Day.” (Día de la Raza). The WBC social responsibility team was on hand to organize sensational activities, making the whole city live the boxing experience.
Jackie Nava, the Aztec Princess, held a motivational talk before hundreds of young people who enjoyed the experience and encouraging messages from one of the most consistently brilliant champions in history.
We presented a series of boxing fitness classes in the city’s squares, led by Rosy Olvera, a WBC-certified Box Fitness instructor, to celebrate this activation that has taken on a great dimension via the initiative of Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum, and the three massive classes that have been held in the Zócalo of Mexico City, the most recent being a national level event.
One of the most emotional moments was the visit to the Children’s General Hospital. Reynosa Mayor Carlos Víctor Peña, accompanied by the champions and the WBC team, visited the pediatric area where we gave a moment of joy and hope to the little ones who are battling to recover, and to their relatives, who are going through moments of deep anxiety and uncertainty.
Beka Romero appeared together with Cristian “El Diamante” Mijares and José Luis “Temible” Castillo for the presentation of a campaign against bullying. Hundreds of kids, teachers and parents were impacted by the powerful message.
Pablo Romero also participated by giving important training for amateur coaches.
The Railroad Museum was the venue for the press conference and the weigh-in. A WBC exhibition was also set up there with a large number of original items of memorabilia that the general public could enjoy for free, including the history of the WBC belt from the first version to the current one, in addition to the robes of world champions Floyd Mayweather, Sebastian Fundora, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Jorge Arce, Raúl “Ratón” Macías, and Salvador Sánchez.
The mayor, Carlos Víctor Peña, participated in the activities, demonstrating his great interest in seeking, finding, and giving young people opportunities to achieve something in life through sports.
In the same way, he and his entire team worked deeply to make this an absolute success. Don Héctor Martín Garza was the liaison and general director of the social responsibility activities, being fundamental for everything to be impeccable.
Reynosa has a lot of delicious restaurants, and I am not lying when I say that we all returned with a couple of extra pounds as we thoroughly enjoyed the delicacies. I learned many things about this important city, which has a very rich history since its foundation in 1749.
It is one of the most important on the border and became of great interest during the years of alcohol prohibition in the United States. It was a kind of Las Vegas. People would cross the border to enjoy music, theater and, of course, their choice of wine and liquor.
Reynosa has produced a large number of world-class athletes, from golfer Abraham Ancer, who now plays in LIV, Major League Baseball players Jorge Cantú and Jaime García, as well as boxers Néstor Garza, Reynosa’s only world champion in super bantamweight, Roberto Rubaldino, who challenged for the title three times, and legendary Raymundo “Battling” Torres.
You can enjoy a beautiful mural called Mosaico de la Mariposa (Monarch Butterfly Mosaic), which is located on a bridge that is precisely on the monarch butterfly’s route when it emigrates to Canada.
Reynosa also has a baseball bat factory. These are already certified to be used in the Major Leagues, putting our industry in competition with the famous ones made in Louisville, Kentucky, and proudly displaying the “Hecho en México” (Made in Mexico) brand.
DID YOU KNOW…?
The WBC summoned its ambassadors to be witnesses of honor at this great boxing event in Reynosa. Julio César Chávez, Erik Morales, Carlos Zárate, Alfonso Zamora, José Luis Castillo, Cristian Mijares, Jhonny González, and the favorite son of Río Bravo, Brandon Figueroa, were present. Roberto Rubaldino, who challenged for the world championship three times, and the only world champion born in Reynosa, Néstor Garza, were also there.
Today’s Anecdote
When I was a child, I didn’t play with toy cars or marbles. I played at being a boxer. I would pretend to be boxing and hit myself, I would make the sound of the crowd, I would narrate the supposed fight like Sonny Alarcón, and my sister Claudia was my corner. She would give me water, fan me with a towel, and put in my mouthguard, which was an orange slice or wet toilet paper.
I would run to my dad to ask him for the names of boxers to make my game more real. One that stuck with me was Roberto Rubaldino, and it was very exciting to meet him in person this past Saturday in Reynosa.
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