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

I finally had the opportunity to visit the Middle East, and this trip to Dubai has been absolutely wonderful in a myriad of ways.

When I flew that night, countless times my thoughts recalled with such fondness my dad, and how much he enjoyed those tranquil hours on long flights. The atmosphere that generates velvet dark silence, with the view encapsulated through the airplane window which generates moments of reflection, meditation and connection, which leads to conceptualize those dreams on which one must work to make them come true.

It has been a very revealing journey. Syrian-Lebanese blood courses through Sulaiman veins, as my grandmother Wasila was from Syria and my grandfather, Elias, was from Lebanon, and for that reason, my dad worked so very hard for many years trying to bring boxing to the Middle East, where it has never really taken root to flourish into a core sport in most of these countries.

On a trip to Lebanon, with a group of Mexicans from the Lebanese community, he came very close to closing a Mike Tyson fight, but the very unfortunate war situation, ended up thwarting that dream.

One day while in Dallas for the Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito bout, a young man named Amir Khan approached him and promised that one day boxing would develop, embrace as well as excel in the region, since his family is from Pakistan. That was the moment when we began this new dream, working towards its fulfillment.

The World Boxing Council created the Middle East Federation, affiliated with the WBC, in order to build foundations and develop boxing in a wider sphere. Much visionary diligent and practical work has been done to achieve an infrastructure in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Israel, Iran, Iraq, and many other great nations.

I traveled to be present at two sensational boxing cards promoted by the newly created boxing promotion named Probellum. The owner is Ali Shams Pour, a gentle and passionate boxing lover who is an extremely successful businessman based in Dubai. He has a great belief and passion for our sport, and took on the task of putting together a brilliant team led by Richard Schaeffer, who was previously responsible for the creation and success of Golden Boy Promotions.

High-level fights took place in a spectacular setting with a first-class production, whose signal was transmitted to EuroSport, one of the most important networks in the world.

Great triumphs for O’Shaquie Foster and Regis Prograis, who thus ensured their chances to compete for the WBC world championship.

I had the opportunity to witness the work carried out by MTK, a company in charge of representing boxers, which in its nine years of existence has grown exponentially. They represent champions Tyson Fury, Josh Taylor and Terence Crawford, among many others from around the world; They have also established gyms in more than 20 countries.

During Probellum fight night, I also met Daniel Kinahan, who is advisor and manager of boxers, a man who has been labeled as a person linked to criminal groups. I had a fascinating and insightful talk with him, confirmed by the testimonies of many boxers who express their admiration and gratitude for the unconditional support he has given them, which has allowed them to significantly improve their lives.

I am nobody to judge any person, and that has been the policy plus ethos of our organization, to combat all types of discrimination and abuse of power, for any person or group.

There were so many friendly faces in Dubai, members of the boxing community from so many countries! Ahmet Oener, Bob Yalen, Anthony Catanzaro, Lee Eaton, Paul Gibson, Kevin Noone, Oksana Semenishina, Egis Klimas, and so many more from at least 20 countries!

We also visited the first ever boxing gym established in Dubai by Ahmet Sediqui, who was one of the first boxing enthusiasts to begin the journey to promote our sport in Dubai

Dubai is a paradise. It is a place that makes you feel impressed and excited, just like when you go to Las Vegas for the first time or when you experience something that really surprises you.

The work that Probellum is doing, in coordination with MTK, could make Dubai one of the epic meccas of boxing in the near future. A Middle East Epicenter of boxing.

We had a wonderful judge and referee seminar, with 23 members of the local boxing commission. Kevin Noone organized the session, which was introduced by Michael Tate from the U.S., Héctor Afu from Panama and John D. Irving from Ireland. It was a meeting in which basic and intermediate level topics were discussed. Zoom sessions had already been held, but this meeting, which lasted three hours, was highly successful.

One of the highlights of my visit was meeting Abdu Rozik, an 18-year-old from Tajikistan, who suffers from achondroplasia, a genetic disorder that limits people’s growth. He is the height of a five or six-year-old. He’s a phenomenon of social media and became famous a few months ago by appearing in some videos where there is a rivalry with Hasbulla Magomedov, a 19-year-old with the same condition, and since then they have taken great part in the boxing and MMA world.

The WBC had a world championship belt made to Abdu’s size, which was presented to him during a meal where we met. He was enthused with joy during the entire three days and he attended the two boxing cards. Talking with him left me with a significant impression and a deeper understanding of his situation. He is already a WBC Peace Ambassador and along with his manager, Jazmine, will work on a comprehensive plan with WBC Cares and Jill Diamond.

After one of the cards we went to dinner, and it was there that I understood the greatness of what was happening, because at one table there were 13 countries represented: Mexico, U.S.A., Panama, Uruguay, Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia, Ireland, Italy, Turkey, Germany, India and the United Arab Emirates, all gathered together for boxing and united by boxing.

Did you know…?

The first world championship fight to ever be held in Dubai took place on June 28, 2013, starring WBC world champion from China, Chaozhong Xiong, against the Philippine challenger Denver Cuello for the strawweight title.

Today’s anecdote…

My dad traveled to Europe many times. He once did so, accompanied by a dear friend from South America, Ignacio Amador de la Peña. That was the first airplane trip in which his friend crossed the vast ocean.

They left Mexico at night and, obviously, the vast majority of the journey was during the hours of darkness. Don José worked for a good part of the journey and slept a little, too. But he noticed that his friend was very quiet, nervous, pensive and restless, constantly pacing. Anyway, when they finally landed in Madrid, Ignacio began to pray and fervently give thanks to God.

“What’s wrong my dear friend? Did something happen?” my dad asked him, surprised and concerned by his great friend’s palpable pallid anxiety.

“Oh, Don Jose! Thank God we’ve already landed, I suffered like never before and feared the worst during the journey. They were following us the entire flight!”

Turns out it was the wing lights that flashed on and off, and Amador, bless him, thought it was a UFO!

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