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

I spent a few days in the city of Los Angeles and had the delightfully fortunate opportunity to meet with Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, one of the great current champions, who will surely be enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame during the coming years.

Roman, the Pride of Nicaragua, visited the WBC office in Los Angeles, California, along with his team. He arrived proudly displaying his Diamond belt, which he conquered last weekend, after decisively defeating move-up flyweight champion, Julio César “Rey” Martínez. We coincided and dovetailed this visit, to present the WBC Trainer`s Belt to Marcos Caballero, who has been in his corner since Roman´s early days.

This innovative trophy was created by my dad many years ago, and Stephan Pryor, the son of Aaron Pryor, took the initiative to revive the accolade, which has been greeted in a great welcoming way by the boxing world.

The trainer is the foundation for the boxer’s achievements in the ring. In the vast majority of boxing careers, they take on fighters from a very young tender age, initiate and mature them in this sport and dedicate a lifetime, inclined to paving successful upward paths.

It is precisely and fundamentally there, in the gym, where the fighter learns the discipline, patience, dedication, sacrifice, craft and technique to apply it all inside the ring.

The coach takes fighters running, in the first pale light and chill of dawn. Throughout the years, they develop and refine technique, and are always there in the good times and in the bad. Many times, Coach is a father figure, and the paternal relationship between them is solid and mutually trusting.

What happens when you win a championship? The boxer receives his world championship belt, in addition to the glory of being the best. Then comes fame, fortune, limelight and opportunities, while normally the trainer discreetly remains in the background.

The WBC introduced the Coach’s Belt, which is presented to each trainer at the time of crowning a world champion. Alaín Flores, from our WBC team, had the sensationally perceptive idea that it be in the form of a towel, since it is the image that characterizes The Coach with the towel draped over the shoulder, in the corner.

After the visit we had a very nice meal. Roman and his team have been out of Nicaragua for four months, preparing for this fight and can’t wait to get back home. That is a morsel of the sacrifice that boxers have to hunger for as an ingredient in the recipe towards their main course history of success.

Carlos Blandón, who is the manager of Chocolatito, shared with me details of this meticulous, arduous preparation that led Roman to sensational victory. Carlos is a lawyer who came into Roman’s life to elevate him and take care of his business interests in an exemplary manner. Boxing needs more people like Carlos.

The recognition of Román and Carlos for their promoter is absolute. By far the greatest in the history of the Orient, Akihiko Honda. Mr. Honda has led, guided, nurtured and developed the careers of the greatest fighters from the country of the rising sun and a select elite from other nations to make them fabulously successful in life, such as Genaro “Chicanito” Hernández (RIP), Edwin Valero (RIP), Jorge Linares, José Luis Bueno, Carlos Cuadras and Román are some other foreigners he has taken on as part of Teiken fold. Some of his Japanese heroes were Oba, Watanabe, Tatsuyoshi, Nishioka and Yamanaka among many more champions and currently supports the sensational duo Murata and Inoue.

The next day I had a talk of more than 30 minutes with Kazumichi Hayashi, one of the great photographers in boxing history. Kaz, as they call him in the boxing world, was a correspondent for a Japanese magazine, and being based in Los Angeles, he covered thousands of fights, many of them legendary. He photographed Tyson, Leonard, Chavez, Durán, Hagler, and Hearns, among others. He married Yunko, and fate struck them with a heart attack, which left her immobilized just two months after their wedding. Kazumichi decided to abandon everything and solely dedicate his life to the care of his beloved wife. Fifteen years have passed since that tragic event and they live happily in Redondo Beach, California. They make a living distributing Winning gloves, considered by many to be among the best in the world.

Something that caused me a great depth of feeling was listening to Hayashi testify that the only one who has been close to him, during all these testing years, has been Mr. Honda, who has given him a monthly pension to help him with his life. What kindness, what humanity, what class!

Mr. Honda is known as The Gentleman of Boxing, the kindest, most humble, and respected person in our sport. Along with Mrs. Nagano, 95, who continues to run the Teiken gym in Tokyo, and Akemi Irie, who has been an important part of the internationalization of Teiken and Nobu Ikushima, who are together with Mr. Honda in this wonderful trajectory. Thank you, Mr. Honda, for always being there for those who need it!

March 13th marked the one-year anniversary of the painful loss of Marvelous Marvin Hagler, an icon and an all-time great, who died in a U.S. hospital. Today his widow, Kay Guarino, the love of his life, continues to live in deep sadness and mourning. We all remember this when we light a candle and marvel in wonderment at his greatness inside and outside the ring.

Marvin Hagler was one of the very few who retired in time, leaving indelibly intact his legacy as an elite supreme pristine boxer. He beat Hearns in the most dramatic fight in history and, without a doubt, the most breathtakingly titanic first round of all time. He also defeated the great Roberto Duran, and he was basically unconquerable. He lost a controversial split decision to Sugar Ray Leonard and decided to hang up the gloves there and then. He turned down a multi-million-dollar rematch offer, simply because he didn’t need to prove anything to anyone. He never again graced the ring after that mega fight in 1987.

Did you know…?

Román Chocolatito González is already considered one of the greatest Latin American fighters in history. His great source of inspiration came from the time he was at Alexis Argüello’s side, and he has won titles in four divisions: Strawweight, light flyweight, flyweight and super flyweight.

Today’s Anecdote…

I had the great fortune to accompany my dad on several trips to Japan. It is a wonderful country with unique customs and exquisite hospitality. On my first trip, on which my brother Fernando also went, Mr. Honda and another promoter named Kawaragi were with us all the time, taking incredible care of Don José. A memorable dinner was at the HAMA restaurant. It was a teppanyaki griddle, all in Japanese, and we were in awe of every detail. My dad was on a diet, just as he was every day of his life. After several dishes, it was time for meat, the most delicious dish I’ve ever tasted.

My dad had said at the beginning that he would not eat meat, only vegetables. When Mr. Honda saw the way my dad longingly looked and smelled as it was being prepared, he immediately gave an indication in Japanese. They put an extra plate for my dad and served him meat. Don José turned to see him with a big smile, he winked and together they burst out laughing.

I appreciate the feedback from him at [email protected].