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

The Guadalupe-Reyes Marathon has already begun in our beloved Mexico. But what is this? December 12 is a major celebration of the appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Millions come to Mexico City from all over the country to sing happy birthday to our Virgin, who appeared 500 years ago. With such also comes a great party, as it is a national holiday.

Reyes is the day in which the three wise kings come to deliver the toys to all children in Mexico, which is January 6. So, in between December 12 and January 6, it is known as a marathon of festivities, parties, and celebrations in which we usually gain from 10 to 15 pounds!

The cold weather we are having makes me feel the Christmas spirit even more, which we unfortunately usually forget, being from one side to the other, forever occupied, and busy. Everyday life does not allow us to pause, value, cherish, and appreciate what is happening and just how much we should be thankful for.

I hope that we all achieve a much-needed moment of reflection in the company of our loved ones, and that the magic of God embraces our homes with joy, happiness, love, compassion, and gratitude during this holiday season.

This past Saturday an era of boxing concluded with the end of the Showtime Championship Boxing series. After 37 years of broadcasting, parent company Paramount decided to remove this sporting gem from its programming.

Showtime is a pay channel, formerly known as cable, that also handles pay-per-view. It produced some of the most spectacular boxing shows in history.

Great boxers saw their careers pass through their screen and flourish. Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Durán, and Tommy Hearns. The sellout of more than 136,000 fans at the Azteca Stadium, thrilling at Julio César Chávez vs. Greg Haugen, the two fights of Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield, including the ear bite, the Israel Vázquez vs. Rafael Marquez trilogy, the glory years of Floyd Mayweather, and the monumental arrival of Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez, among more than hundreds of world championship fights.

Promoters Don King, Dan Goosen, Tom Brown, Oscar de la Hoya, Gary Shaw, and many more had Showtime as the network to stage the best fights for four glorious decades.

Just as Showtime announces its departure, Amazon Prime is coming to boxing in a big way! In addition, it was announced this week that PBC signed a multi-year contract with Amazon to carry all the boxing of this great group, which has more than 150 boxers in its lineup, including two more fights under contract with Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez.

This scenario happened years ago. When HBO left boxing, DAZN was born, a streaming company that has built a great position in the world of boxing. It is therefore logical to understand that we are entering the era of digital platforms, but we must not leave aside what TV is. This will always continue to exist, and the best combination will always be open television, cable, digital platforms, and pay-per-view for sport, whatever it may be.

With great pride, I watched the fight of the Mexican Yesica Nery Plata, who traveled to Germany and retained her light fly world championship by defeating the local Sarah Bormann by decision. It was a dominant and powerful performance. Fortunately two top-level judges were appointed by the WBC, since incredibly, the third, appointed by another organization, appointed a local judge who had the German fighter winning.

They also played tricks on her with the gloves by not letting her use the ones she intended (Reyes), and forced her to use the one of the sponsor of the event. But even with everything against her, she came out like a hurricane and fought a great fight. Now she is back home with her Green and Gold Belt. Bormann is a sensational fighter, also a pride of the WBC, and I am sure she will be coming back strong very soon.

The countdown begins for the day of final judgment. Day of Reckoning, a spectacular event that will take place in Saudi Arabia in celebration of the Riyadh Season: six heavyweight fights, with 12 fighters, nine that are ranked in the top 15 by WBC, including the top four, who are Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua, Arslanbek Makhmudov, and Frank Sánchez.

It has also been said that if they win their respective fights, Wilder and Joshua will face each other on March 8, in that same location, which is positioning itself as an epicenter of world boxing.

The last fight of the year for our organization will be on December 26, in Tokyo, when the Japanese fighter called Naoya “Monster” Inoue faces Filipino Marlon Tapales, a fight in which the four belts of the super bantamweight division will be at stake.

This year has been one of great professional and personal satisfaction. A very active, long, heavy, and tiring twelve months with multiple trips, but with brilliant results at the highest level. I wish to remember the first month of 2023.

In January we celebrated the ninth anniversary mass of my dear dad, José Sulaimán. It was in the old Basilica of Guadalupe in the company of hundreds of people, who, year after year, gather to remember him and hug us with such tender warmth.

Unfortunately, I could not be physically present, as I had to appear before the sports arbitration court (CAS) in New York. The courage it bolstered me with when I got there was important, especially after being informed that the accusing party had decided not to travel and instead participate by zoom, not the fighter, his promoter, or lawyer flew as we did. This was a woeful lack of respect towards us, and above all, to the arbitors who flew from Europe to be in that meeting.

Also, in that month we had active participation with the IMSS, which is the National Bureau of Health, and its head, Zoé Robledo, and the sports director Héctor García, as we embarked on a nationwide campaign to promote physical activation through boxing fitness. Finally, I had the honor of meeting a legendary Dallas Cowboy, Charles Haley, a five-time Super Bowl winner, thanks to the efforts of my friend Robert González, as we are joining efforts to support Haley’s educational programs in the USA.

DID YOU KNOW…?

In Mexico, you can watch boxing on a large number of channels week after week: TV Azteca, Televisa, ESPN Knockout, Fox Sports, Imagen TV, Canal Space, and several digital and streaming platforms, such as DAZN, ProBox TV, and several more.

TODAY’S ANECDOTE

Christmas was always the happiest time for my dad. He worked hard with my mom to always give us a celebration full of happiness, harmony, and love, and also gifts, especially when we were young kids.

On one occasion when we were older, my dad arrived from a long trip on December 23, and he was out of time, so he couldn’t do his Christmas shopping as he wanted and he was missing the gift for my brother Héctor: “My son, go upstairs to my closet and bring down the black jacket that I have hanging in the back, I have hardly worn it and it is beautiful and he is going to love it.” My dad placed it in its box and put it beneath the tree, advising: “Don’t tell anyone, it will be our secret.” Héctor opens the gift from him and we all cheered: “Let him put it on!” The sleeves were at the level of his elbows! And my dad’s laughter could be heard resonating all the way to the corner of the block.

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