By Mauricio Sulaimán
President of the WBC – Son of José Sulaimán

What an incredible Sunday I spent at the Alfredo Harp Helu Stadium, the home of the Diablos Rojos México, to see the third match of the traditional Mexican Civil War, between the Diablos and Quintana Roo Tigres!

On Friday, the Diablos came back from 10-0 deficit to win with a bases-loaded home run in the final inning, with two outs and two strikes!

The dream of all baseball players in the world, to hit that winning home run, and slugger Japhet Amador achieved it.

This Sunday, we gathered with family and friends to attend the third match, and the Reds won the series, defeating the Tigres, owned by the great Mexican idol Fernando Valenzuela.

Baseball is the sport of the Sulaimans.

We four brothers played, my father was manager, coach and even president of the Lindavista Little League, while my mom was in charge of the dining room which provided meals to the ball players and their family members.

It was a childhood full of family unity, sports, camaraderie, and it formed our character for life.

How important is sports training for society and family. Baseball is, without a doubt, one of those activities that manages to bring out the best in all of us!

The long-awaited fight between Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia finally took place at the T-Mobile in Las Vegas, USA.

The pundits were right, the favorite won, with a great display of power and elite skills.

Ryan had a marvelous first round and dominated the second, until Gervonta landed a jab to the jaw, sending the young star to the canvas. I am concerned to see the true criteria of scoring being lost in judges, even when scoring had no bearing in the end result. I can’t simply understand how such knockdown had scores of 10-9 twice and 10-10 in one judge. There are three types of knockdowns, the flash one which comes by circumstance, quick punch, balance issues or else in which the downed boxer was not hurt at all; The solid knockdown in which the punch was a solid blow which inflicted clear damage to the fighter who went down in a dominating fashion, and then the knockout blow in which normally the referees does not even count. A knockdown must be considered similar to a homerun in baseball, a goal in soccer, a touchdown in football, etc. It is extraordinary action which must be recognized in the scores when it is a solid one.

After the second-round knockdown, the fight was defined. The following rounds were cautious from Ryan, who was not able to establish his dominance, and in the seventh round he received a searing hook to the liver that with delayed effect sent him to the canvas for the final count.

The dream ended…

Gervonta won and embraced effusively with Floyd Mayweather, who has been his biggest supporter since the start of his career.

This fight has many direct and indirect results that mark positions in the boxing industry:

Hopefully this motivates everyone to continue looking to make fights between boxers, who, in turn, have different promoters, platforms and interests.

Las Vegas looked great, just as boxing has often achieved magical nights.

They were all there: Mike Tyson, Julio César Chávez, Deontay Wilder and actor Mark Wahlberg, as well as a large number of other personalities.

Boxing is, without a doubt, the great world sport that generates emotions like no other sport or show.

Now comes Devin Haney, the great undisputed lightweight champion, who will fight Vasiliy Lomachenko this May 20 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, USA.

What a division! Devin Haney, Vasiliy Lomachenko, Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson, Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, and a few more.

Did you know…?

Don Alfredo Harp Helú has been one of the greatest promoters of sport in our country. I am so proud to have presented him the “WBC Man of the Year” award during the WBC annual convention in Cancun back in 2019.

His passion, baseball, and his Diablos Rojos del México. Family atmosphere, fans, delicious food, music, and unforgettable moments are the ones that remain engraved in the mind and heart of those who attend the Diablos Rojos Stadium.

Today’s anecdote

My dear father was a great baseball player. He was signed by the Boston Braves, but after breaking his tibia and fibula he had to return to Mexico.

He was the manager and coach of his four children, and he made us excel by being very demanding. I hated those long practices which got us exhausted, but loved the results on the field with our performances.

Together with Sandro de Miguel, he formed the Vagabundos team, and it was there that he drew all his energy and passion.

The Vagabundos ninth was made up of many of those kids who played on the Lindavista Little League teams. After each game, we all came home to enjoy the traditional snacks along with a cold one and talk about the details of the game.

One day playing the cities district tournament against Tolteca, losing 5-2 in the last inning, with two outs and two strikes, and bases loaded, my brother Héctor was at bat.

And he hit a terrific line drive that hit the center field board! And Lindavista won.

“Mijito, watching you jog the bases on your way home to seal the victory for your team is one of the greatest moments of my life.

“Today Hector was born, the great leader who will be able to do everything in his life; I am very proud of you, I will never forget this day,” affirmed Don José.

And so were the countless occasions that this story was told in conversations with family and friends.

I welcome your feedback at [email protected].