By Mauricio Sulaimán
Son of José Sulaimán & WBC President

We started a 2023 full of great plans personally, as well as for the world of boxing. And 2023 began with a Bang! The first big show was held in Washington D.C., and Gervonta Davis once again shocked the boxing world with a spectacular knockout before a sellout crowd that broke the all-time gate record in the arena, going over the previous record held by The Rolling Stones! Davis defeated brave Dominican Héctor García, who put up a great fight but could not resist the powerful punch of the North American.

The decision of the same boxer not to continue when telling his corner that he could not see, at the end of the eighth round, was very wise. Even when his trainer implored him to continue, the fight did not and thus set a much-needed example for all corners. If the fighter asks not to continue, then the fight must be ended. We have tried on several occasions to keep the corners without the presence of the father of the fighter; that pressure of the father-son relationship has proved to be too tough on the fighters on many occasions.

This past Monday there was an event that shook the world of sports. Buffalo Bills defense Damar Hamlin suffered an unusual blow to the heart that caused him to go into cardiac arrest, watched live by millions of fans around the world. The images never seen in the NFL were terrifying. The timely and expert intervention of the medical personnel of both teams, the stadium staff, and the security protocols of the NFL saved his life. He was resuscitated on the field and taken to the hospital immediately. Today, Hamlin has recovered and is already in communication with teammates and colleagues and even has posted on social media thanking the world for the prayers.

We published a note in this regard which you can access at: https://wbcboxing.com/en/safety-protocols-save-lives-in-sports, something very important for all leagues, organizations, schools and teams to learn from this event.

Mexico currently has the visit of the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada for a summit with President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, took up boxing and demonstrated how boxing can be life changing. As an amateur boxer, he fought against a political rival in an event to benefit a cancer institution, but also with an impact on his aspirations, and thus the story of the now leader of North America began.

Boxing has been practiced by many personalities: Nelson Mandela was a high-level amateur boxer. Likewise, Pope John Paul II, Mexican top comedian Cantinflas was a boxer, and with his traditional humor, he would brag that he was very popular and well known to the fans, as they recognized him by the soles of his shoes, because he always ended up on the canvas knocked out.

Another of the great priorities for the World Boxing Council in 2023 will be attention to amateur boxing that is going through its worst crisis. Boxing was one of the four sports that participated in the original Olympic Games in Ancient Greece and has been a part of the modern Games since 1904.

The Olympic Games were a nurturing cradle where the vast majority of legendary boxers such as Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Leon and Michael Spinks, Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar de la Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Roy Jones Jr. and many others were born, as well as current boxing idols Deontay Wilder, Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko, who all began through the amateur process, Olympic process and Olympic Games.

The mismanagement of the federation in charge of amateur boxing (AIBA), now called the IBA, for over two decades, with countless misconduct and scandals, have led the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to expel said body and decide to exclude boxing from the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, and with the threat of removing it from Paris in 2024.

Our platform with the WBC Amateur Committee has worked for more than 15 years to support amateur boxing in a significant number of countries, and the world community is united to propose options to the IOC and rescue our sport, since it gives the opportunity to the 203 countries to dream of a medal and has a huge audience.

Did you know…?

One of the famous protagonists of the Rocky movies, the grumpy brother-in-law, Paulie Pennino, was an established boxer, with a record of 32-2 in the amateurs and 17-0 in the professional sphere.

His real name was Gerald Tommaso DeLousie, and he eventually changed his name to Burt Young.

Today’s anecdote

The Golden Gloves were the seedbed that for decades shaped amateur boxing in Mexico. All the greats fought there. Those 13 Olympic medalists and the vast majority of the more than 200 world champions that our country has produced were established there. The Mexican amateur boxing authorities abandoned this and this great concept died. It was in 2003 when my father met with the then-head of Government of Mexico City, today’s President of Mexico Lopez Obrador, and the Golden Fists tournament was created and organized.

A national tournament that culminated with a grand finale downtown. My brother Héctor was with Don José that wonderful day, and he told us how my father exclaimed: “Mijito, this is what we need to attend to all that young men and women who dream of one day representing Mexico and winning medals, win world titles for country, family and neighborhood. Look at how this downtown is full of families, and everyone’s dreams of finding what the new Julio César Chávez looks like.”

I welcome your feedback at [email protected].