By Mauricio Sulaimán
President of the WBC – Son of José Sulaimán
I am returning from a memorable trip to Rome, where I had the great fortune to visit the Holy Father Francis, in the company of my brother Héctor and our beloved Adrián Pallarols, who is the silversmith of Pope Francis. His Holiness has been a great supporter of boxing since 2016 when the WBC began to run the BoxVal (Boxing with Values) program worldwide. There have been several events named “Fight for Peace” in which boxing is showcased as the great sport it is, with fair play and the most honorable action in all sports, which is the moment in which boxers embrace each other seconds after fighting with their heart to win. Pope Francis was marveled with the story about our champion, Oleksandr Usyk, in his first fight with Tyson Fury, when at the end of Round 7 he came back tired and hurt to the corner, and kissing the crucifix gave him the power to rise and win the undisputed championship.
After a 2024 of great boxing activity, this 2025 started just as expected, with tremendous cards.
With Riyadh Season, and its alliance with Queensberry, Matchroom, Golden Boy, and Boxxer, activity has begun with promotions in Las Vegas on January 25 and in Riyadh on February 22,
Other groups have tremendous action. Last week in Japan, Teiken Promotion, Ohashi Promotions, and Top Rank had their inaugural card in Tokyo with the magnificent demonstration of the sensation of the small weights. “Monster” Naoya Inoue, undisputed super bantamweight champion, knocked out his South Korean rival, Ye Joon Kim, on the Japan Amazon Prime platform.
This coming weekend, Premier Boxing Champions and TGB will present a mega card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with the Prime Video broadcast of Amazon Prime from the US, a card that will be seen in Mexico on Televisa and throughout Latin America on ESPN Knockout, as well as in most of the world.
Mexican-American Brandon Figueroa will defend his WBC featherweight world title in a rematch against Stephen Fulton, who dethroned him in 2023. The first fight was dramatic, and Fulton took away his undefeated record with a split decision.
Mexican sensation Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz will have a fight that is expected to be ferociously great against his compatriot, Angel Fierro. Whenever there is a Mexican in the ring, great emotions are expected, but when two face each other, a war is predicted.
For this fight we have created a commemorative belt called Guerrero Azteca, The Aztec Warrior, which will be a special trophy for the winner.
Fights between Mexicans have caused countless memorable fights, that legendary trio that fought each other, Juan Zurita, Joe Conde, and Rodolfo “Chango” Casanova, one beating the other.
The Erik Morales trilogy with Marco Antonio Barrera, Barrera vs. Juan Manuel Márquez, Ruben Olivares against Chucho Castillo, Herrera vs. Martínez, and so many more fights.
This belt is dedicated to the memory of Israel Vázquez, who passed away on December 3, a man who had great battles with Jhonny González and that trilogy with Rafael Márquez. PBC will render a special homage to Israel Vazquez, as his wife and three kids will be present to honor the life of a great champion.
In the main event, Mexican-American David Benavidez will face Cuban David Morell, both interim light heavyweight champions of the WBC and WBA respectively, and the winner will be the official mandatory challenger of the winner of Beterbiev vs. Bivol.
The WBC will be actively participating in this promotion with social responsibility activities, especially the talk on awareness of the danger of addictions, which will be given by Rocky Heron, accompanied by referee and Hall of Famer Joe Cortez, Yokasta Valle, and several world champions at a community center in Vegas. And the young people who attend will be invited to watch the boxing card.
On Saturday February 22nd, one of the most spectacular fights in recent history will take place, with seven world championship fights.
- Undisputed light heavyweight title (WBC): Artur Beterbiev vs. Dimitry Bivol.
- Lightweight title (WBC): Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd Schofield.
- WBC Middleweight Title: Carlos Adames vs. Hamza Sheeraz.
- WBC Interim Super Welterweight Title: Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Israil Madrimov.
- WBC Interim Heavyweight Title: Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel.
- WBO International Light Heavyweight Title: Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith.
- IBF Heavyweight Title: Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker.
Great news is that World Boxing, the international boxing federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee, already has the necessary countries’ affiliation to be officially recognized as the body in charge of carrying out the activity of our sport so that it remains in the Olympic Games, and its participation in Los Angeles 2028 is confirmed. We will continue to work to unconditionally and wholeheartedly support World Boxing, and we are sure that boxing will return to its glorious era, where the Olympics continue to have a large audience and generate stars for professional boxing.
Did you know that…?
David Benavidez is well known in Mexico for the much-mentioned rivalry with Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez. That is in the past. Benavidez is a great champion who won the WBC super middleweight championship on three occasions and never lost it in the ring, He failed an anti-doping test outside of competition, and on the second occasion by not making weight during the pandemic, and finally by moving up a division, he won the WBC light heavyweight championship, beating former champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
Today’s anecdote
My father dedicated his life to boxing, and in particular to making this sport safer and fairer for fighters. Don José suffered greatly when he saw great idols of the ring end their boxing careers in precarious conditions. He worked tirelessly to achieve the creation of a fund that could assist those who had extreme emergencies. The José Sulaimán Boxers Fund is a reality. It is administered independently by the Nevada Community Foundation, and in the 12 years of its existence, it has awarded 2.2 million dollars to hundreds of boxers around the world.
I appreciate your comments at [email protected].
