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

The Christmas season has officially ended, and it’s time to knuckle down with willpower to lose those extra pounds we gained. As I previously explained Mexico calls this the Guadalupe – Reyes Marathon as there are daily parties from December 12 until January 6 with tamales, hot chocolate, some tequila of course and a variety of Mexican dishes to celebrate with friends and family… so we all start the year with a big belly but with will to have a healthier one.

 

I sincerely hope that you have spent a Christmas season of peace, joy and happiness with your loved ones and friends.

 

The sudden death of Carlos Bremer shook the Mexican sports community. He was an avid  promoter of sports in our country; Passionate about baseball, he always found ways to promote the sport in any and every way, producing films, sponsoring athletes and events; He was a main sponsor for Canelo with his brand VALUE, also helping fighters like Oscar Valdez and a few others. May God receive him in His Holy Glory, and deepest condolences to his family who are in deep mourning.

 

After a year full of great achievements for our sport, 2024 arrives with great fights on the calendar, and with interesting announcements that will significantly change the way boxing works.

The arrival of Sheik Turki Al-Sheikh, with his passion for the sport of fists, achieved two majestic events, and two more are already in the works: Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, in which the four belts will be disputed on February 17, and the return of Anthony Joshua against the very popular Francis Ngannou, who had his entrance into boxing through the front door by knocking down the WBC world champion, Tyson Fury, and losing to a close decision.

 

The WBC and I were criticized for included  Ngannou in WBC ratings after his performance against Fury, as it was his first professional fight, after a very successful career in mixed martial arts, and now he will be in the ring against two-time champion Anthony Joshua, who for sure  will be sitting on a barrel of dynamite,  because of the African’s impressive  and powerful punching power, it shall be a very interesting fight indeed.

 

It’s gratifying to see when one was right, and now the many critics just jump on the bandwagon.

 

Another great event is the arrival of  Amazon Prime platform to boxing. PBC signed a multi-year contract to present  top-notch boxing events with so much talent , and that includes at least two fights by Saúl Canelo Álvarez.

We welcome Amazon, and let it be the beginning of its era in boxing, just as HBO and Showtime one day began.

 

The DAZN platform is also taking shape in a spectacular way with programming in all corners of the world. I am sure that 2024 will be great for our sport.

 

For the World Boxing Council it is going to be a year of memorable challenges..We have a very comprehensive work plan after the agreements reached at the Uzbekistan Convention. The priority will continue to be to find a way to make boxing safer for all those who enter the ring, find prevention measures to minimize risks before fights, and unify the actions of all those who belong to the industry, in order  to grow and develop.

Some keys will be:

– Successful implementation of the WBC BoxMed app by Conexión Facil.

– Closeness campaign with current champions to understand their needs, and implement investment and savings programs with GBM.

– Bring top-level boxing promotions to our country, and return weekly activity to Mexico City.

– Continue with social responsibility activities and the WBC Cares program.

– Achieve proper administration of the divisions, and have the best fights that take place.

HEAVY
TYSON FURY (GB)

BRIDGER
LUKAS ROZANSKI (POLAND)

BRIDGER Interim
KEVIN LERENA (SOUTH AFRICA)

CRUISER
NOEL MIKAELYAN (GERMANY)

LT. HEAVY
ARTUR BETERBIEV (CANADA)

SUPERMIDDLE
SAUL ALVAREZ (MEXICO)

SUPERMIDDLE Interim
DAVID BENAVIDEZ (US)

MIDDLE
JERMALL CHARLO (US)

MIDDLE Interim
CARLOS ADAMES (DOM. R.)

SUPERWELTER
JERMELL CHARLO (US)

WELTER
TERENCE CRAWFORD (US)

WELTER Interim
MARIO BARIOS (US)

SUPERLIGHT
DEVIN HANEY (US)

LIGHT
SHAKUR STEVENSON (US)

SUPERFEATHER
O’SHAQUIE FOSTER (US)

FEATHER
REY VARGAS (MEXICO)

FEATHER Interim
BRANDON FIGUEROA (US)

SUPERBANTAM
NAOYA INOUE (JAPAN)

BANTAM
ALEXANDO SANTIAGO BARRIOS (MEXICO)

SUPERFLY
JUAN FRANCISCO ESTRADA (MEXICO)

SUPERFLY Interim
CARLOS CUADRAS (MEXICO)

FLY
JULIO CESAR MARTINEZ (MEXICO)

LT. FLY
KENSHIRO TERAJI (JAPAN)

STRAW
YUDAI SHIGEOKA

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT
FRANCHON CREWS DEZURN (USA)

MIDDLEWEIGHT
CLARESSA SHIELDS (USA)

SUPER WELTERWEIGHT
EMA KOZIN (SLOVENIA)

WELTERWEIGHT
JESSICA MCCASKILL (USA)

SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT
KATIE TAYLOR (IRELAND)

LIGHTWEIGHT
KATIE TAYLOR (IRELAND)

LIGHTWEIGHT INTERIM
MAIRA MONEO (ARGENTINA)

FEATHERWEIGHT
SKY NICOLSON (AUSTRALIA)

SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT
YAMILETH MERCADO (MEXICO)

BANTAMWEIGHT
DINA THOURSLAND (DENMARK)

SUPER FLYWEIGHT
ASLEY GONZALEZ (MEXICO)

SUPER FLYWEIGHT INTERIM
ADELAIDA RUIZ (USA)

FLYWEIGHT
MARLEN ESPARZA (USA)

FLYWEIGHT INTERIM
KENIA ENRÍQUEZ (MEXICO)

LIGHT FLYWEIGHT
JESSICA NERY PLATA (MEXICO)

STRAWWEIGHT
SENIESA ESTRADA (USA)

ATOMWEIGHT
FABIANA BYTYQI (CZECH REPUBLIC)

Today’s anecdote

Julio César Chávez was the great Mexican champion, the pride of the WBC, and like a son to my dad.

Julio fell into addictions that led many people to suffer those years, where anguish, sadness and suffering surrounded his loved ones.

Many people abandoned him and considered him lost. Don José did not rest, until he recovered, which took several years, after failed admissions to a variety rehabilitation clinics.

Julio César visited my dad in the UCLA  hospital just two weeks before his death.

“My dear champion, Julio, how proud I am of you, seeing you clean is the best thing that could happen to me!  May God protect you to continue like this; “You are great among the great, and now you will continue to be the champion of life,” Don Jose said.

Now is the time to fight for the reconciliation of Chavez, and that of his son Julio Jr., they are going through a sad and difficult process which unfortunately has been very active in social media. Lets all give them respect and support and I am certain soon they will be together again .

I appreciate your comments at contact@wbcboxing.com