By Mauricio Sulaimán – Son of José Sulaimán – President of the WBC
My trip to the Southern Cone was a total success, visiting Uruguay and Argentina with multiple meetings that have left me greatly motivated to redouble our efforts in support of that great region of the boxing world. Argentina deserves more Olympic medals and more world champions, plain and simple—from Luis Ángel Firpo, who knocked the legendary Jack Dempsey out of the ring, to today’s great prospects such as the winner of the José Sulaimán Cup in the Riyadh Season WBC Boxing Grand Prix, Kevin Ramírez in the cruiserweight / bridgerweight division, and the two who went to Las Vegas as unknowns and earned tremendous victories that put them on the global map: Ismael Flores in super welterweight and Alan Chaves.
We celebrated our traditional Martes de Café press conference (Coffee Tuesday) in Argentina at the Casa del Boxeador, which is now the official headquarters of the WBC—an iconic venue filled with people devoted body and soul to our sport. It was a very special press conference; our main office did a fantastic job editing two videos: The History of Argentina and the WBC, remembering so many individuals who were and remain a vital part of our organization, and the history of Argentine boxing, featuring great bouts by the best Argentine fighters in history: Firpo, Locche, Pascual Pérez, Monzón, Maravilla Martínez, Roldán, Domínguez, Locomotora Castro, Laciar, and so many others… as well as female warriors Marcela Acuña and the dearly departed Alejandra Oliveras.
We remembered the great commissioners, promoters, officials, and members of the media, and I also had some deeply emotional encounters—such as embracing Nancy Rodríguez, daughter of the great Carlitos Rodríguez; hugging Sabrina Pérez, who suffered the ultimate tragedy while fighting in Tijuana and was warmly embraced by Mexico; and meeting three young boxing lovers who are social media phenomena: “El Búho” Ciro and Aquiles Ríos, alongside WBC amateur champion Alexis Ríos, who in an act of utmost nobility “gifted” me his watch—which he and his family worked so hard to acquire—with the sole condition that the watch must always keep Argentina time. I accepted, but on the condition that I will hand it back to him the day he is crowned WBC world champion.
Boxing is a unique sport; it speaks only one language, and it is universal. It doesn’t matter if you are a fighter in Argentina, South Africa, Japan, or the United States: gyms smell the same, the sweat and tears are identical, and the process of warming up, wrapping hands, and training goes hand in hand with the thoughts of greatness running through their minds. Always standing by is the trainer—that anonymous hero who takes a child off the street to teach them the fundamentals of the sport and, in some cases, leads them all the way to a world championship.
This weekend, a highly anticipated clash was confirmed—one of the most significant fights in British boxing history. It will be a showdown of champions: even if it comes a couple of years later than ideal, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will finally face each other in the ring.
However, to secure this battle, both had to go through tune-up fights—those famous bouts that sometimes turn into nightmares, abruptly destroying multi-million dollar plans for promoters and fighters alike. On his end, Fury won comfortably via TKO 7 in Thailand, a fight in which the WBC presented a commemorative belt named “Metta,” which means “for humanity” in Thai. On the other side of the world in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Joshua suffered to dramatically win by KO 2; he was dropped by a powerful uppercut just 20 seconds into the fight, fell to the canvas once more, and was virtually saved by the bell. Joshua, being the great warrior he is, came out determined to prevail and dramatically knocked out his opponent, Kristian Prenga, the Albanian who entered with an impressive 21-1 record with 20 KOs.
And so, everything is set for the two British titans to step into the ring at the end of the year.
There was also action in Australia, Errol Spence, the former world champion, once considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters, lost in his return to the ring against the son of legend Kostya Tszyu. Tim Tszyu, himself a former world champion, won by majority decision, likely marking the end of Spence’s career.
So that’s where things stand. The FIFA World Cup has come to an end, and after a week of adjustment worldwide for everyone to return to their daily routines, boxing kicks off its second half of the year with intense activity. We will have Martes de Café—I missed them!—where we will make a couple of major announcements and presentations. I will be heading to Las Vegas for the fight between Mexico’s Camarón Zepeda and America’s Roach, who will compete for the WBC lightweight world championship. Zepeda was interim champion and lost a great fight to Shakur Stevenson; meanwhile, Roach comes off two draws that felt like victories—one against Gervonta Davis and the other against Mexico’s Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz.
The following week, Guatemala’s icon and the first world champion in that country’s history, Lester Martínez, will defend his title against the tough Albanian gladiator Luka Plantic.
Did you know…? The long-awaited fight between WBC welterweight world champion Ryan García and official contender Conor Benn from England has officially been signed. The rivalry is fierce, the kickoff press conference was spectacular, and now it’s time to see who will emerge victorious. The WBC is proud to play a key role in making this match a reality, having unconditionally supported both fighters through significant personal challenges when the rest of the world turned its back on them. Conor, son of Nigel Benn, has voiced his dream all over the world to win the green and gold belt that his father proudly won and defended 10 times. Meanwhile, our champion Ryan García has become the supreme ambassador for the organization, taking his belt everywhere—whether to grab a burger or to an official event at a government palace.
Today’s Anecdote… We were in Argentina during the WBC convention in 1996, and during one of the dinners, a famous tango show took place. A gorgeous dancer approached the table where I was sitting with my father, reached out her hand, and with a unique gesture invited Don José to get up and dance. Embarrassed, my father simply turned to me and said: “Mijito, don’t you dare tell your mother.”
I welcome your comments at contact@wbcboxing.com
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