WBC HISTORY
The WBC was established as an initiative of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo López Mateos, to create an organization that would unify all the commissions of the world and develop the expansion of boxing.
This is how on February 14, 1963 the World Boxing Council was founded, initially created by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, England, France, Mexico, the Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, and Brazil.
Its main founders were the Mexican Luis Spota and Professor Ramón G.
Velasquez, who were Presidents of the World Boxing Council, as well as Onslow Fane, from England and Filipino Justiniano Montaño.
So far there have been six honorable men who have held the position of President of the World Boxing Council; However, Dr. José Sulaimán Chagnón, who became President on December 5, 1975 in the city of Tunisia and remained as Leader for more than 38 years, was the one who consolidated the organization as the most important at international and global level.
Thanks to his unstinting efforts, innovation and guidelines, the WBC evolved, grew and transformed the way this noble sport is viewed. For the WBC the most important thing has always been to promote and safeguard, safety, health plus respect for the boxer, who gets into the ring with a hunger and thirst to win, and to entertain the fans, in spite of the risks.
The World Boxing Council is a non-profit organization that works motivated by the love for boxing with dedicated, loyal people who seek to safeguard the safety of boxers. Consisting of 166 countries with their respective confederations, its main function is to make boxing a fair and safe sport.
Today, with the leadership of its President Mr. Mauricio Sulaiman, the WBC continues to work to enhance boxing, as well as to protect the health and well-being of all boxers, above any interest, always promoting our values: loyalty, justice, integrity and respecting the social commitment that supports our history.
THE FIRST SET OF WBC RULES THAT REVOLUTIONIZED BOXING:
1.- The reduction of the length of title fights from 15 to 12 rounds.
2.- The official weigh-in required 24 hours before the fights.
3.- The creation of divisions.
4.- The four-rope ring.
5.- The thumb-attached glove.
6.- Doping tests after each fight sanctioned by the WBC.
7.- Donations to UCLA for research.
8.- Annual medical examinations for champions and classified boxers.
9.- Life and hospitalization insurance for those fighters involved in title fights.
10.- Retirement plans to support boxers in need throughout the world.
11.- The struggle against apartheid in South African boxing, which earned our president an acknowledgement from the United Nations.
José Sulaimán, Lifetime President.
Mauricio Sulaimán, President.
MAURICIO SULAIMAN SALDIVAR PRESIDENT OF THE WBC
Mauricio was born on December 30, 1969 in Mexico City, Federal District, the youngest son of Jose Sulaiman Chagnon and Martha Saldivar Morales.
A man passionate about music and sports, who from his childhood, followed the footsteps of his father, the man who taught him to serve others.
Mauricio graduated in Business Administration from the Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Campus Estado de Mexico, whose academic achievements include two more specialties, in finance and another in High Responsibility Management by the Association of Presidents from America.
He was President and CEO of Controles Graficos Enterprise, a manufacturing company with three business divisions: printing, security and digital solutions. In 1992 the WBC appointed him Director of Public Relations and in 1994 he was elected Vice President of the North American Boxing Federation.
In 2004 Mauricio became Executive Secretary of the World Boxing Council.
On February 12, 2014 he was unanimously elected President of the World Boxing Council.
During his time as the head of the organization, Mauricio has worked, guided by the values that his father instilled in him in more than 38 years as the head of the WBC, focusing on honesty, responsibility, respect, solidarity, loyalty and friendship.
Five years after being elected WBC President, Mauricio has developed various initiatives, such as amateur and professional tournaments, active participation in social and reintegration programs, women’s boxing advancement with the organization of three Conventions, monitoring the “José Sulaimán” Fund that helps the boxers in need, creation of special belts to commemorate great fights, seminars for judges and referees around the world.
Also and significantly, the creation of the Clean Boxing Program (CBP) that in alliance with VADA, does anti doping tests, and strives to educate athletes about the dangers and disadvantages that doping wreaks, in addition to the penalties that testing positive for prohibited substances, inside or outside of a competition result in.
Another important aspect during Mauricio`s leadership is the work with the Pope Francis foundation, Scholas Occurrentes, with the task of serving children in search of a better future, regardless of religion, race or color, through sports. He also worked hard to get Jack Johnson´s pardon. Justice for the first African American heavyweight champion.
2020 was a challenging year for everyone and sport. The World Boxing Council led by Sulaiman, sought ways to stay active and unite the entire boxing during the pandemic.
Starting with the “Stay at Home” campaign, later with champions involving everyone in workouts, so as to remain active at home. Daily WBC talks in English and Spanish from Monday to Friday, so that the boxing and sports community kept in communication, entertained and above all active.
The WBC designed a medical-administrative protocol, to return boxing without an audience, so that events could be held. This document was shared throughout the world and has been very successful.
Various social responsibility activities including food supplies delivery in order to support the boxing community, especially older people who cannot leave home.
The Heroes for Humanity program was one of the most important initiatives as it seeks to recognize those who contribute to their communities in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, via extraordinary, selfless and courageous actions.
HISTORY OF WORLD BOXING COUNCIL
To speak of the history of the most important organization the World Boxing Council, it is necessary to go back in time, back to the origins of the sport that has brought glory to the people: boxing.
Fighting with the fists as a competition and show is one of the oldest sports of all time. Such skills have been practiced since ancient times on almost every continent except America.
Although very few people know the facts, boxing was born in Africa and dates back to 6000 BC, in what is now known as Ethiopia; it first spread to the ancient Egyptian civilization and from there to Mesopotamia.
In the beginning, the Egyptian boxers used a type of glove that was worn up to the elbow, however, this custom was also found in Crete and ancient Greece, where references were made to boxing in Homer’s Iliad.
By the year 688 B. C. boxing was included in the XXIII Olympic Games of ancient times by the name of pygmea or pygmachia, Greek for fistfight. Boxing was also practiced in the early days of ancient Rome, but was virtually eliminated as a business throughout Europe with the rise of Christianity. Contrary to what happened in Europe, boxing was widespread throughout Asia. It is estimated that in the early Christian era, Muay Boran or ancient boxing appeared in Southeast Asia.
China has attributed the appearance of this sport to Bodhidharma, an Indian monk and Buddhist patriarch who lived in the V century, in the shao lin chuan, who claimed that the practice of boxing is intimately connected to the control of qi or chi, an internal energy that is attributed to living beings:
“Without the Chi, there is no force. A boxer who screams and throws his punches fiercely has no real power in his fists. A true boxer is not really a show, but is one whose blows are as hard as a rock. This is because he possesses what is called the Chi.”
In the eighteenth century, boxing became a widespread sport in Great Britain and its colonies, from whence it got to the American continent.
Boxer Jack Broughton introduced a technical and methodical approach to the practicing of this sport, optimizing punches and movements. In 1741, he defeated George Stevenson in a battle that lasted 35 minutes, unfortunately Stevenson died a few days later. Because of this, Broughton abandoned the sport, but later came back and created rules to prevent boxers from suffering irreversible damage.
Years later Jack Broughton came up with and began to spread in his amphitheater of Tottenham Court Road what would become the first rules of modern boxing, which became known by his name and eventually gave him the acknowledgement as the “father of English boxing.”
THE FIRST SEVEN RULES:
1.- Retreat to your corner of the ring before a fallen opponent.
2.- The count of half a minute after a fall and to be able to get back to the center of the ring and restart the fight or be considered “man out of action”.
3.- Only the boxers and their seconds could climb into the ring.
4.- The prohibition of private arrangements between boxers in terms of money.
5.- The selection of referees to settle disputes between boxers.
6.- The prohibition of hitting an opponent when he/she is down.
7.- Locks can only be used above the waistline.
Broughton’s Rules were maintained with some modifications until 1838 when they were replaced by the London Prize Ring Rules.
During this time, boxing was introduced to the American continent and at the end of the nineteenth century boxing fever began to spread in non-whites countries, especially in those where there was British or American influence, such as Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Panama, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, South Africa and Spain.
In a relatively short time afterwards, Mexico established itself as one of the central places of boxing; the history of Mexican champions began to plant its roots in the sport with some of the finest boxing, as the then President of Mexico, Adolfo López Mateos, decided to create an organization to manage the unification of all world committees to control the spread of the sport called boxing; this is how on February 14, 1963 the World Boxing Council came into existence.
