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A CONVERSATION WITH WBC PRESIDENT DON JOSE SULAIMAN By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Sun, 18 Nov 2007  Born on May 30, 1931 in Mexico, Don Jose Sulaiman has spent almost his entire life in the sport of boxing and been without a doubt one of the outstanding men of our time. Despite the occasional criticism from individuals who either don?t like what he does or are perhaps insanely jealous of what he has achieved in making the World Boxing Council the pre-eminent world boxing organization, those who know him well ? and there are many Filipinos among them ? have nothing but respect and admiration for him. From a rather personal point of view we have always known Don Jose to be a great supporter of the Philippines and Filipino boxers and has always responded with fairness to any legitimate request involving our country?s boxers. One has only to look at the fact that reigning WBO bantamweight champion Gerry Penalosa, despite losing what Penalosa?s handlers believed were close and somewhat controversial decisions against In Joo Cho of South Korea and Masamori Tokuyama of Japan was given mandatory challenges in return bouts by the WBC because of the intercession of Chairman Sulaiman. Even today, Don Jose has sought to advise Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao to fight reigning super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez or lightweight champion David Diaz for the coveted WBC belt but demonstrated his magnanimity and class by telling Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today that ?if he fights for another organization we will respect that as well. We are not asking or demanding. No. I?m giving him advice as a friend. Fight for a title. Go into the records. History must remember you Manny.? Earlier this year Don Jose Sulaiman was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Unanimously elected president of the WBC in December 1975 he has served in that position of leadership ever since then. Under the stewardship of Sulaiman the WBC has instituted many new rules and regulations concerning the safety of boxers and their welfare. Top photo: Jose Sulaiman (L) chats with Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo during the opening ceremonies of the WBC Convention at the Manila Hotel on Nov. 11. 
Sulaiman speaks to the delegates and guests during the opening of the WBC Convention at the Manila Hotel on Nov. 11. 
Sulaiman (L) with Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao. 
Sulaiman (L) awards GAB Chairman Eric Buhain for Buhain's role in the successful hosting of the 45th WBC Convention at the Manila Hotel on Nov. 11 to 17, 2007. Photos by Dong Secuya. Under Sulaiman?s guidance championship bouts were reduced from 15 to 12 rounds while the official weigh-in was held 24 hours prior to a fight and in more recent times mandatory 30 and 7 days weigh-ins to avoid dramatic weight loss which was one of the many innovations agreed upon at the 2nd World Boxing Medical Congress held in Cancun, Mexico in April this year. Sulaiman?s persuasive influence for the good of boxing was clearly manifested when both IBF president Marian Muhammad and WBA president Gilberto Mendoza attended the congress. Don Jose and the WBC took its concerns about safety one step further by funding a brain injury research program at UCLA. During his years of service the WBC also introduced the attached thumb glove and created intermediate weight divisions that prevented substantial weight differences among fighters. For his care and concern at the helm of a truly worldwide organization of more than 160 affiliated nations, Don Jose Sulaiman was inducted earlier this year into the ?Hall of Fame.? He was also given the singular honor of being bestowed with the Award for Universal Excellence in Mexico City last August. The award was created by Rene Cassin of France who won the Nobel Peace prize in 1968 and its esteemed awardees of the past include King Juan Carlos of Spain, British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, US first lady Nancy Reagan and legendary tenor Luciano Pavarotti among others. Don Jose Sulaiman?s son Mauricio Sulaiman who is executive director of the WBC provided an insight into his father?s attitude towards criticism when he told us ? friends like you - because you are sincere and you have told him when you think its wrong - it has helped many times to think, analyze and change bad decisions.? We had the privilege of a lengthy conversation with Don Jose at a wonderful luncheon hosted by Sulaiman?s eminent lawyer friend and founding secretary general of the WBC Rudy Salud whom Sulaiman refers to as his mentor. 1. Don Jose, please clarify your statements regarding Manny Pacquiao. SULAIMAN: ?I believe that Manny Pacquiao is the most devastating and most respected champion of the world but his people only publish that he?s fighting for the money. And in the underdeveloped countries I have perceived that he?s saying that means that he is hurting the poor people because they say if he?s fighting for the money why doesn?t he help the poor people of the Philippines. That is not Manny Pacquiao. I?m advising him to understand that only those that win world championships will be written in the history of boxing. 25 years from now if he didn?t win that championship his name will not be there. So I am offering Manny to fight for the WBC super featherweight championship which is what the world wants which is his division - and Juan Manuel Marquez and he had a draw and the world wants that fight to happen. I am offering that to him but if not, we are offering also the lightweight division championship because they say that he might be having problems with the weight. So at this convention we want him to accept fighting for a world championship. But if he does not want to fight for the WBC title I advise Manny to fight for a world championship . I don?t care what division, I don?t care what organization. Fight for the championship because that?s the only way that a great champion like him will be seen in the records in the future. 2. During the dinner in Intramuros hosted by the Department of Tourism, Manny received the WBC Champion Emeritus belt and in his remarks mentioned only the name of Marquez. SULAIMAN P ?I hope that Manny puts forward his ideas. He should be free to fight whoever he wants because its he who wants to win over whoever challenger that people say that might beat him. And I believe that out of his dignity and his pride he wants to defeat the boxer that the people say he might not. I think that he has in his mind Marquez because he is the WBC champion and he knocked him down three times in one round and if he didn?t finish him it was because after those rounds he wanted to finish him with one punch and you cannot win that way. So Marquez ran away, boxed him and he got a draw. If Manny, after knocking him down three times would have continued in his same style of punching him several times he would have won. I believe that Marquez today is a most outstanding fighter of the lower weights without question. He went down three times and he got up to fight the whole fight and got the draw. Any other fighter I don?t think would have had the spirit to continue trying to defeat the challenger. You have to give him merits, definitely. 3. Marquez claims Pacquiao styles himself as the ?Mexican Assassin? but there is one Mexican standing and that?s him right now. SULAIMAN ? ?It?s a matter for Manny. He is the man that the people expect to win a championship. I don?t think he should allow his people to continue saying that its only for the money. Money is not boxing. That?s the modern times of the gigantic television networks . He is a man of the world . He is a hero of the Philippines. The Filipinos want him to win over the best. The Filipinos want him to win the championship not any other thing that is not the world championship even though he is the WBC International champion. That is the stepping up division that the WBC has for the newcomers. 4. Ring Magazine also wants him to fight Marquez and if he wins handsomely he has a chance to become No.1 in the pound-for-pound category and also be the Ring super featherweight champion. SULAIMAN ? ?The Ring magazine is an old office. Two or three people writing on a typewriter ..no communication with the world. They have the ratings that come out two months later and they only have a belt that they give away. That means nothing. When Oscar De Loya bought it I thought it was the stubbornness of a wealthy man who wanted to buy a magazine. But the magazine means nothing for a world champion. What?s a magazine? Its not even the top sales in its own country. But at the times of Nat Fleischer that?s a different thing. He was a great man. Immortal in the history of writers in boxing. It was my biggest pride that he attended in 1963 the foundation of the WBC. He was a founder of the WBC. Now you have the inheritors of the magazine running so many bad things about all of the organizations. What has the ring done for boxing? Nothing. Zero. Only sell the magazine for money. 5. You are also unhappy with the big TV networks in the US. SULAIMAN ? ? Half of my family are Americans. They are Lebanese that came to the United States in the 19th century. My family lives in Massachusetts and other cities of America especially New England. My children all have gone to study in the US. I went to college in the United States. I love the US. It brings goose pimples on my skin because the Mexicans don?t win too many medals at the Olympic Games but when I hear the national anthem of the United States its like my home. But I cannot accept the abuse of authority. I cannot accept the monopoly. I cannot accept their believing that they own the world. I cannot accept their stepping on anybody in the world. I cannot accept the big networks of the US trying to mandate on boxing? saying who they are set to fight, when, for how much money ?no way. Even until the last day of my life I will be working for the creation of a TV network for boxing and offer it to all the promoters that they don?t select. They discriminate against promoters. They discriminate against boxers, they discriminate against champions. We cannot. This is a free world . All of us our born the same. There is nobody that I see upwards and nobody that I see downwards. We are equal and the networks of the US got to give the opportunity to all the people of the world? not only those that they select and they sign as a monopoly. 6. Many of the WBC members have suggested why go to Las Vegas when the Commission in Nevada virtually ignores the WBC and have suggested making Macau an alternate Las Vegas. . SULAIMAN ?? That?s what they are talking. Create Las Vegas in Macau. Let me tell you the WBC will be more than happy to have its best fights held in Macau. I have many friends in Las Vegas . It?s a great city. It?s a great entertainment city. I really spend beautiful moments of my life in Las Vegas but the boxing commission with the WBC in Las Vegas were very close during I would say of the 45 years that we?ve been founded at least 40 years. Las Vegas and the WBC were the same. We used to work together for the benefit of boxing, for the sport, the boxers themselves, for justice. But now people that know boxing in the ring are commissioners but they have no idea of the business of boxing. They do not understand that boxing is worldwide. That many of the boxers that go there are not Americans. That many of the boxers of the world have the opportunities and they believe that the Americans are the only people that are fair. Nobody is to be trusted, only them. That is not nice. In the WBC for example we have many good Ring officials for Nevada and we send them all over the world and now the nations are telling me why are you sending me ring officials from a state that doesn?t want to recognize us? Whats the difference between us and Nevada? And I just cannot find the explanation. 7. Of course China is a huge market and is worth developing. SULAIMAN ?? I believe that I am much more close to my end than my beginning ? I don?t know how many years of my life my God will give me. But I will dedicate the last days of my life to bring open boxing to the world. China within 25 to 50 years I believe will be the No. country or close to No.1 of the world. The opportunities in China are unlimited. The potential for the financial structure of any body is very, very fair. The WBC is holding its 46th convention next year right after the Olympic Games. They will probably after that and during our convention accept professional boxing also as official. As of today it does not exist. If China goes to that and after having seven finalists in the amateur tournament for the Olympic Games I believe that the future of China is unlimited . The WBC wants to have its convention in China with an important world championship of professional men?s,.one world championship for females with a challenger from China. One WBC Muay Thai world championship and WBC Youth championship and if we can have one other professional title we will open the doors of China for all the world to enjoy. 8. What are your thoughts on the Convention in Manila at this time? SULAIMAN ? ? We have never had a convention with this organization. Everything to the second. Everything in good order. Never have we thought that it was going to happen here. When I came here for the first time for the ?Thrilla in Manila? it was the first time I knew the Philippines. After that I?ve been very close. I am very grateful, very happy to see so many smiling faces of the Filipino. To see how they love boxing, how they love the heroes of boxing..how they bring Manny upwards like a phantom that will be the role model for many other Filipinos to get to his position. I am very appreciative and I hope that the WBC will leave a mark in the Philippines and from here boxing will go to a better direction?a direction of unity - direction of liberty- no monopoly ? opportunities for all. I hope that we can accomplish more rules for justice and for the sake of the sport. 9. Your dear friend and mine Rudy Salud was given the ?Lifetime Achievement Award?. It was a wonderful moment for all of us. SULAIMAN ? ? Rodrigo Salud was the person that inherited to me the secretary general of the WBC. I watched him working in the WBC conventions and he has been my mentor because his style, his mental attitude, the way of approaching things is what I really learned from this man ? a man who is a great Filipino and for that reason we came to his own home to tell the world and the Philippines that you have a great man that has left a great mark of his passing through life in the sport of boxing. I really like this man, admire him. 10. Don Jose you also visited the Elorde Sports Complex for dinner. SULAIMAN ? ?In the year 1963 the WBC elected Elorde as one of the greatest and inscribed it in the history and the Hall of Fame of the WBC He went to New York, the United Nations where we had the ceremony and received the WBC championship belt with great honor and believe me with tears. When I went to his home the other night for dinner to the gymnasium I was so happy to see in a very special place the green and gold belt that the great Flash Elorde received in 1963. 11. Anything you wish to end with? SULAIMAN ? ?I hope you understand that I am a very humble person. I am very friendly and frank,. I never speak what I don?t think. I want to help people. I live to serve other people. I am also a warrior. I?m a fighter and when I see the abuse of authority and when I see monopoly when I see that there is something that the rest of the world must fight I fight. 12. Don Jose Sulaiman. Thank you very much and God bless you. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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