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Philippines, 27 Mar 2026 |
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Round 12 with Mauricio Sulaiman: It´s Fightweek Fight: Canelo vs. Crawford By Mauricio Sulaimán PhilBoxing.com Wed, 10 Sep 2025  I had a week filled with special activities and accomplishments as I also made final preparations to travel to Las Vegas for what’s expected to be the most important fight in years: with our champion Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez against Terence Crawford. I was honored to be invited to the first government report from Mexico President, Claudia Sheinbaum, at the National Palace. I am proud to be Mexican, and the report motivated me to continue working with enthusiasm, focus and commitment in all things related to boxing. This sport plays a huge role in society, as do all our various social responsibility programs. Mexico is a great country, and in these turbulent times for our world, we must all unite and advance together, be positive, and always look for opportunities for those who depend upon us. Our President has proven to be a solid and visionary leader and she has been a great friend to boxing. Our weekly press conference, “Coffee Tuesdays,” was packed with people and a wide range of topics in a crowded hall at the Aqua hotel in Mexico City. My dear friend, Fernando Beltrán, was there to discuss two very important topics, recalling the many times he attended these meetings with my father, Jose Sulaimán, who always considered Fernando as a son. The international card that will take place in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, on October 11 was announced. Mayor Carlos Peña, accompanied by Héctor Martin Garza, revealed the details of the return of former world champion Miguel “Alacrán” Berchelt and the many community activities that will be held in the border city. Tamaulipas put itself on the global boxing map in 2024 with the beautiful commemorative belts for May 5 and September 16, and the great promotion that Governor Américo Villareal gave to his state, even presenting the traditional Tamaulipas clothing, known as a “cuera,” to Canelo and his wife after he won both fights. Jaime Munguía was also present and gave a detailed defense of his doping case, which was announced after his May 3 fight in Riyadh. Munguía participated in the investigation process in an exemplary manner, undergoing many different tests to prove his case against the use of banned substances, including blood, hair, and nail tests, and even a polygraph test at FBI-approved offices. Jaime is free to resume his career in the ring while being involved in a continuous monitoring process by the clean boxing program in probation for one year. Another announced fight is that of Gabriela “Bonita” Sánchez, who will seek the interim WBC world championship on November 8 in Puebla. I am so proud to see the great work our champion does as the director of sports for the state of Puebla—it’s absolutely admirable. We had a very emotional moment when former WBC international champion Sabrina Pérez presented the amateur tournament that will be held in her native Argentina. The tournament has been named “Diego Arrúa – Verde y Oro” in honor of her late husband. Tears ran down many cheeks when Sabrina recounted what she experienced two years ago when she lost her title in Tijuana to Skye Nicolson. Her husband, Diego, was her coach, and at the end of the tenth round, he suffered a heart attack right there in the corner. He tragically died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Our organization has been, and will continue to be, very close to Sabrina with unconditional support for her gym and tournaments. We also presented a coach’s belt to Carlos Duarte, who led Ibeth “Roca” Zamora to conquer two WBC championships. My dear father, Don Jose, always looked for a way to dignify the work of coaches because they are so important to the success of boxers. This is why the WBC created a belt to be presented to coaches who crown a WBC world champion. It is shaped like a towel, inspired by the great Angelo Dundee and Arturo “Cuyo” Hernández. Finally, the Adolfo López Mateos belt was presented. Dedicated to the culture of the state of Tlaxcala, this beautiful, unique piece will be given to the winner of the Álvarez vs. Crawford fight next Saturday in Las Vegas. On Wednesday I attended the special yearly luncheon of the most influential leaders in Mexico called “The 300 “ organized by Lideres Mexicanos magazine. That same day I have dinner with Eddie Hearn and Shaun Palmer from MatchRoom as they stopped in Mexico City on their way to Los Mochis where they promoted a sensational card which aired on DAZN. On Friday I went to the incredible yearly event presented by Mr Carlos Slim and his foundations where the participation of guests speakers, including Queen Rania from Jordan, Kevin Costner, Serena Williams and other top figures of the world made this a special day for all of us in attendance. The final stretch has arrived for this highly anticipated bout between two great champions. The expectation is worldwide. It’s difficult to get these kind of matchups in the ring, and the similarities between the two are impressive. Canelo has been a world champion for 14 years, while Crawford has been one for 12. Both have won championships in four different divisions and have been on the pound-for-pound lists for a decade, neither has ever visited the canvas, never been knocked down in their combined 107 fights ! The rivalry between Mexico and the United States is incandescent, and this fight leads us to speculate if it will be like the one between the great Mexican champion Julio Cesar Chávez and Pernell Whitaker. An undefeated Chávez had great difficulty against an elusive Whitaker, who was a southpaw just like Crawford with amazing ring generalship. The fight ended in a draw, being a very complicated test for the Mexican. Another comparison is whether we will see something similar to Chávez vs. Meldrick Taylor, who had impressive hand speed and a fighting rhythm that caused Chávez great complications, forcing him to give his all to dramatically knock him out in the final seconds of a fight he was losing. So many other bouts to compare and dream of what we will see this Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium. Did you know… The Telmex Foundation held its “Mexico 21st Century” event, where year after year, top-level speakers present to more than 10,000 scholarship recipients from all over the country who gather at the National Auditorium. Ing. Carlos Slim and his family have as their top priority to provide opportunities to as many people as possible through the wonderful programs of the Telmex Foundation, Carlos Slim Foundation, and so many others that operate under his leadership and humanist mission. One of these foundations created the program Ring Telmex Telcel which has been in operation for 16 years and has produced 26 world champions. Today’s anecdote… Yesterday was my wife Christiane’s birthday, and we’ve been reminiscing about her relationship with my dad. The day we told him he was going to be a grandfather, he was so excited. It was a Sunday during our traditional family gathering. After a huge meal, Don Jose said, “Since I didn’t eat much today, I’ll have some dessert,” with a childish smile and then he added, “How beautiful it would be for a little grandson to be named after me.” Nine months later, Jose Sulaimán lll was born. One day, he came to visit his grandson and said, “Where is my precious Morito boy?” Christiane immediately reacted, “But Uncle, didn’t you want a Jose? And now you’re calling him Morito as he was little Mauricio ?” He burst out laughing, and from that day on, he was always “Josesito.” I appreciate your comments at contact@wbcboxing.com. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Mauricio Sulaimán.  |
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