By Mauricio Sulaiman
Son of Jose Sulaiman / WBC President

It is impossible not to mention the tragedy that shook the world of sport and humanity globally. Kobe Bryant and his daughter died in a helicopter crash. What a tragedy! How sad!

Why did they fly under conditions questioned by the authorities? What would have happened if this or that? These are the questions that the world is dedicated to debate and discover.

This tragedy is comparable to the news of the death Roberto Clemente, a Puerto Rican baseball player, who was traveling by plane on a humanitarian mission to deliver food to marginalized areas and victims of the earthquake in Managua in 1972. Also comparable is that fateful morning of August 12, 1982, when the world awoke to the news of the death of reigning world champion Salvador Sanchez, who died in a car accident at the age of just 23.

It has been great to see the tributes paid in his honor by the world sports community. Rest in peace, Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and the others who perished.

On another issue, we are in the voting process for the awards for the best of 2019, and contrary to the old practices of voting by the governing board, the World Boxing Council has decided to completely open up this process to the fans so YOU can determine the most magnificent highlights of last year’s activity.

There are different categories, and we have already integrated women in each and every one of them. We believe in their power of women and that they deserve absolute recognition in all areas of boxing and in general.

Below you will find the corresponding categories and candidates:

BOXER OF THE YEAR:
·      Saúl Álvarez
·      Vasyl Lomachenko
·      Errol Spence Jr.
·      Deontay Wilder
·      José Carlos Ramírez
·      Josh Taylor

BOXER OF THE YEAR:
·      Katie Taylor
·      Claressa Shields
·      Jessica McCaskill
·      Franchón Crews-Dezurn
·      Amanda Serrano
·      Mariana Juárez

FIGHT OF THE YEAR:
·      Spence-Porter
·      Charlo-Harrison
·      Makabu-Papin
·      Taylor-Prograis
·      Pascal-Jack
·      Dirrell-Yildirim

FIGHT OF THE YEAR:
·      Persoon-Taylor
·      Serrano-Hardy
·      Shields-Hammer
·      Crews-Dezurn-Cornejo II
·      Juárez-Fernández
·      Martínez-Chávez

KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR:
·      Jose Ramírez-Maurice Hooker
·      Saul Álvarez-Sergey Kovalev
·      Callum Smith-Hassan N’Dam
·      Julio Cesar Martínez-Andrew Selby
·      Deontay Wilder-Dominic Breazeale
·      Deontay Wilder-Luis Ortiz II

There are more categories such as: in Revelation of the Year, Return of the Year, Trainer of the Year, Event of the Year, Prospect of the Year, Humanitarian Award, Dramatic Fight, Performance of the Year and Honorary Awards.

You can vote on the site:
https://wbcboxing.com/best2019/index.php/votacion/vote