By Mauricio Sulaiman
Son of Jose Sulaiman / WBC President

On Sunday, March 8th, the world commemorated and celebrated “International Women’s Day.”

I grew up in a family where women are sacred. My dad lost his mom, Doña Wasila, when she was very young; she died at just 41 years old.

The memory of my grandmother was kept alive until the last breath of my dad, since she accompanied him every day in every way of his life, and he used to tell us countless stories about our grandmother.

On my mother’s side, great grandmother and grandmother, Baldramina were part of our daily lives; a strong, loving, caring and flourishing influence on the Sulaiman family.

My mom has been the solid and central pillar that unites us. She was the unconditional support for Don José, and thanks to her character and dedication, she allowed my dad to go out into the world with the complete peace of mind of having that solid foundation to form a solid, well-educated family of good persons.

My wife Christiane was been that pillar and foundation for my own family, as she stands side by side with me day after day.

We were educated to respect women, and with the typical phrase: “The woman is not touched even with the petal of a rose.”

Boxing is a difficult sport, it is a contact sport, and the incursion of women was a long, complicated process. It was even banned in Mexico and many other countries until the beginning of the 21st century. It was the tireless work of Raul Cruz and the crusade of the World Boxing Council, led by Don Jose, that succeeded in modifying the laws and allowing women to be included in regulations, and thus be able to fight.

There were many years of clandestine boxing, of having gyms without bathrooms for women, constant abuses of all kinds against those brave ladies who appeared in the gyms trying with all their might to realize their dreams.

On May 7, 1994, at the MGM in Las Vegas, there was an event that would change the fate of women’s boxing forever. Don King scheduled a women’s fight on Mike Tyson’s card!

Powerful and courageous favorite Christy Martin got into the ring against a humble, low profile Laura Serrano.

When the bell rang, they started a fight that captivated all the fans, and the Mexican young lady gave Martin a real tough fight. Although the judges scored a draw, fans at MGM and millions on television were very happy to have seen such a great fight between two warriors.

It was in 2004 when the WBC created the women’s committee and started the world championships.

Erik “El Terrible” Morales called my dad and asked him to sanction the inaugural fight in Tijuana. Jackie Nava became the first WBC world champion in history.

The WBC has dignified the presence of women in boxing and has fought tirelessly seeking equity in all aspects of the sport; from opportunities on cards and television broadcasts, to better conditions in pay levels.
We must recognize and applaud several boxing promoters, as well as TV networks, as they have boosted women’s boxing with great and sustained force over the years. Mexico has solid women’s boxing program with Fernando Beltran’s Zanfer and Oswaldo Kuchle’s Promociones del Pueblo putting women’s title fights on Azteca and Televisa respectively. Argentina, with Osvaldo Rivero with the support of TyC Sports, Tom Loeffler got HBO to have Cecilia Braekhus as main event, Mark Taffet has done an outstanding job with Claressa Shields with the support of Showtime, Lou DiBella has been also a great supporter of women’s boxing with the Serrano sisters and Heather Hardy, Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom and DAZN, just to name a few. The WBC applauds the so many persons and institutions that have supported the development of women boxing worldwide.

We have held three women’s boxing conventions: Cancun, Tijuana, and Manila (Philippines), as we continue to plan the fourth convention, possibly to take place in Napa Valley. The WBC follows a series of medical research protocols exclusive to women’s boxing, and is precisely designing a specific research which is taking place at UCLA under the Safe Boxing Task Force.
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Another factor worth mentioning is the evolution of the women’s WBC belt. Initially a belt with “feminine” features was designed and manufactured, a distinction to give women their rightful place in boxing, a smaller belt than that of men, and with the material adorning the plaque in the shape of a flower.

In 2017 we changed the design and the belt to exactly the same size as the men. This was implemented, and the flower-shape was removed. And starting in 2020, we are removing the word “female,” so the world champion belts will be the same for men and women. The bearer of the belt is a world champion. It doesn’t matter if you are a man or woman.

We celebrate the power of women. We join every demonstration necessary to dignify them, and we emphatically reject any kind of discrimination and aggression in any form.

We join the rally, search and quest for equity, and stand at the forefront to advance and progress with proactive actions.

We are proud of our champions, and I’m happy to share our current champions lineup:

Thank you. I accept any comments, ideas, or recommendations at [email protected].