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

What an event and what a memorable show that I had the great opportunity to experience on Saturday at Wembley Stadium in England!

Tyson Fury celebrated the famous day of St. George and was proclaimed The King of Boxing in front of ninety-four thousand fans, in the most important fight during the last 30 years around the British Empire.

This event broke the attendance record for a boxing card in Europe and positioned itself as the second largest in boxing history only behind the Guinness Record of Mexican idol Julio César Chávez, with more than 136 thousand fans, on February 20, 1993, at the Azteca Stadium, promoted by Don King in association with Dan Goossen.

Fury vs. Whyte broke two Guinness Records. The largest purse bid in history with $41 million, this was what Queensberry Promotions, in association with Top Rank, paid to acquire the rights to promote it.

The card also broke the record for the heaviest book in history, with the WBC OPUS of the best fights in history, weighing in at 32 kilos. A unique edition, inlaid with crystals and with the cover depicting the Ukrainian flag, was created and is being auctioned by reputable auction house Bonhams, with all the money going to humanitarian support foundations for Ukraine relief. To date, the highest offer is at one hundred and thirty-two thousand dollars, it will close on June 5.

Dillian Whyte came out to win and managed to land heavy body shots, but was never able to impactfully land to Tyson Fury’s head with his wild overhead lefts and rights. Meanwhile, Tyson Fury looked great, judicially using the jab and was very mobile. Then, he unleashed the blockbuster right uppercut in round six, which rendered Whyte defenseless.

The show did not end there. Tyson Fury took the microphone and sang Don McLean’s famous American Pie tune, to the delight and rapture of the fans, who celebrated his kingship homecoming.

Tyson Fury is our WBC heavyweight world champion. The same championship that has crowned Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Ken Norton, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Vitali Klitschko and Deontay Wilder, in that order, with some other champions, who pursued the succession to the throne, so that Fury is the worthy successor, thus called Lineal champion.

Fury is a star, aside from his great boxing ability and the great power of his fists. He is a wonderful person, who managed to battle out of a terrible crisis in his life, which led him to suffer the demons of alcohol, drugs and depression. Only a few believed in him, and among them is the WBC, since we supported him in the most difficult moments.

Today he is a family man, an example of kindness and charity. His great charisma is used to change the lives of millions of people. He has a wonderful work team and he is invariably in the company of his wife Paris.

In the ring, he told me that he urgently needs to and wants to visit Mexico because he identifies with our country and its people. We agreed to see each other in May to take a great tour around the city, visit the Aztec pyramids, sing with mariachi and why not eat tacos and all other Mexican delicacies?

There was a moment that touched our hearts to the depths. Tyson invited his little friend Marshall to the fight. A child without arms or legs, and in the end there, they met in the center of the ring.

Fury knelt down, gently placed his belt on him, and they tenderly hugged. It touched the hearts of so many of us.

The atmosphere experienced, prior to the combat, was impressive. The traditional Sweet Caroline was sung by everyone. Absolutely electrifying and totally unforgettable. A show topper, prior to the show stopper.

Dillian Whyte came out with AC/DC’s Back in Black and Howling Wolf. And then, Don McLean came to the screens, with a special version of American Pie, followed by a story of the king, Tyson Fury.

It is necessary to recognize that the referee did a great job and had a tremendous performance. The fight turned into a pitched battle in the fourth round. Both fouled and it came close to becoming unmanageable. Mark Lyson applied authority with rigor and in so doing and so achieving, he kept and maintained firm control of the two angry giants.

Fury announced his retirement at the press conference. We are going to let him rest, contemplate his future and then we will see what happens.

Did you know…?

England has had a high-level of heavyweight world champions, and within the WBC they have been Frank Bruno and Lennox Lewis. Lennox dominated the division for more than a decade, retired as champion and was the last to hold all the belts as champion.

Today`s anecdote

The World Boxing Council was the first to discover, and put Tyson Fury into the ratings. My dad closely followed his beginnings when Mick Hennessy was promoting him.

On one occasion, Fury expressed himself inappropriately and Don José decided to suspend him if he did not retract what was published. The next day he received a call from the young boxer. When I hung up, my dad told me: “My son, I loved talking with this young man. He apologized appropriately and expressed himself eloquently. He has charisma and they say he is a good fighter. I hope all goes well for him…”

Today Tyson Fury is the king of boxing.

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