Round 12: The fathers in boxing
By Mauricio Sulaimán – President of the WBC- Son of José Sulaimán
Commemorating Father’s Day, it occurred to me to write about the father-son relationship in our sport.
The father often has great influence on their offspring who are boxers.
Boxing is a sport with roots in family tradition and in many cases there are several generations of fighters, branching out in the same family tree.
The father takes the boy to the gym and on many occasions, he himself is the one who trains him, and even manages him. Everything is fine until… it’s time to get into the ring to fight.
The line should be drawn then, and another person is the one who should be responsible for being in the corner during the fight. Why ? Because Boxing is not a game, it is a contact sport, with high physical demands and health can be put at risk. There is no person more demanding than our father, and there is no person more obedient, eager to please and proud than the son.
The father will always demand more from his son, who in turn would never be able to demure, determined to make dad proud, no matter what the sacrifice.
Many of the ring accidents have occurred with fighters, who have their father as a chief corner ; fights that should have been stopped, and due to the above, it tragically did not happen.
The reality is different. The number of fathers in the corner today with high-level fighters is important. Devin Haney, Vasyl Lomachenko, Teófimo López, David Benavidez, Shawn Porter, Danny García and many other elite boxers have their fathers in the corner.
As for boxing promoters, there are a lot of sons following in their father’s footsteps, such as Todd DuBoef who is the stepson of Bob Arum at Top Rank, Kalle and Nisse Sauerland, in Germany; Christian and Alessandro Cherchi, from Salvatore, in Italy, Oswaldo Kuchle, the son of Don Reginaldo, in Mexico; Eddie Hearn, son of Barry, of Matchroom; George and Francis Warren, sons of Frank, from Queensberry, and I saw Carl King last week, who is returning to support his dad, Don King, and many more from around the world .
Other great father-son duos are: Tom and Brittany Brown, Chepo and Eddy Reynoso; Sean and Brendan Gibbons, Luis and Luis Jr. de Cubas, Akemi and Nick Irie from Teiken promotions , among many more… Something less common is to have a father and son… world champions!
But this short list is fascinating. Julio César Chávez and Julio Jr., Kotza Tszyu, and current monarch Tim, Guty Espadas, father and son; Floyd Patterson and his son Tracy; Leon Spinks, with Cory, Wilfredo Vázquez, father and son; Chris Eubank Sr and Jr, and the greatest of them all, Muhammad Ali, with his daughter Laila.
Turning to another important topic, this Saturday the Massive Class was held for the second time, in the Zócalo, in Mexico City. It was memorable and thrilling to see how Julio César Chávez made the more than 30,000 attendees do and accomplish the fun workout. It raised our city, and our country to great and record breaking heights through the sport of Mexicans: boxing!
A titanic task with the teams of the Mexico City Sports Institute (Indeporte), the Pilares program, and the staff of the World Boxing Council, with the great participation of 50 champions, who were as instructors, headed by Ana María Torres, Irma Torbellino García, Erika Cruz, David Picasso and dozens of others.
The mayor of Mexico City , Martí Batres, the tireless promoter of our sport, Miguel Torruco Garza, Ciro Nucci, Daniel Aceves and Education Minister, María Leticia Hernández were present. Great team!
It was wonderful, inspiring and humbling to see children as young as four years old, seniors up to 90 years old and individuals in wheelchairs, showing that there are no limits in life. A fabulous event of peace, harmony and family, all proud to continue breaking records with this sport, which is a national heritage.
That same day I was invited to inaugurate a beautiful multipurpose gym, with a large boxing section, and which proudly bears the name of José Sulaimán Gymnasium, in the Coyoacán Mayor`s office.
I am so very grateful to the Mayor Giovani Gutiérrez for this beautiful distinction, but more for being a great promoter of the sport. The champions Alfonso Zamora, Rafael Bazooka Limón, Víctor Rabanales and David Picasso accompanied me. Efrén Juárez has been representing Coyoacán for a long time, with great achievements, and Saturday was a great day.
Did you know…?
Alejandra La Rockera Guzmán achieved the most important triumph of her career, going to New Orleans, as her rival was the favorite, She stopped Ramla Ali, dramatically knocking her out in the seventh round. A great achievement for Mexico.
Today’s anecdote
It was during Father’s Day, when my now wife, Christiane, attended the first family meal. It was a Sunday at La Góndola restaurant. We were all there. My dad, who was known for his great appetite , ordered his favorite dishes: garlic mushrooms, Caesar salad, rice with mole and a veal brisket. And by the time the main course was finished, Don José told Christiane: “ Darling Christiane , Mauricio tells me that you are majoring in nutrition; I am taking these new pills that suppress hunger…”.
Chris looked at him and said, “But they don’t work much, do they?” After a total silence, my dad burst out laughter and couldn’t stop laughing…
Obviously, he polished it off with a delicious caramel flan.
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