WBC president Jose Sulaiman credits the existence of the governing body to the Philippines because it was a Filipino who crafted the constitution and Manila hosted the historic convention that laid its foundations in 1967.
As WBC secretary-general, lawyer Rudy Salud authored the constitution that was ratified in the Manila convention presided by WBC president Justiniano Montano Jr., also a Filipino.
So when Manila hosted the WBC 45th annual convention that ended yesterday, it was like going full circle. The only other year when Manila hosted was in 1970.
?Don Jose has always loved the Philippines because without the Philippines, there would be no WBC,? said Salud the other day. ?When he presented me with the WBC lifetime achievement award, I almost melted because he called me his boss and mentor. I accepted the honor in behalf of our country.?
Salud said history will show that the Philippines played a major role in creating the WBC, considered the most prestigious governing body in the fight game today.
?Thanks to Jun Montano and the Philippine government, we got the WBC off the ground,? said Salud. ?In a sense, the WBA prompted the creation of the WBC when it insisted on giving one vote to each US state and each member country, one vote. That led to 11 countries leaving the WBA and forming the WBC.?
The countries that bolted the WBA to form the WBC were the US, Argentina, England, France, Mexico, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil and the Philippines whose representatives decided to allocate two votes to each of five member federations. Today, the WBC has 116 member countries and nine affiliate federations.
Salud gave Sulaiman his big break in world boxing when he appointed the Mexican of Lebanese descent as deputy secretary-general in 1968. Montano and Salud ended their terms in 1971 and four years later, Sulaiman was voted president ? a position he has now held for over three decades.
Salud, wife Pampin, son Chito and wife Gretchen hosted a lunch in their Quezon City home recently for Sulaiman, WBC vice president Charles Giles of England and WBC director for press and protocol Federico Enriquez.
In their talks, Salud said Sulaiman lamented the lack of respect that a city like Las Vegas has for sanctioning organizations.
?Since Las Vegas has the monopoly of big fights, the local athletic commission sets the rules which is why there is no continuity in the system of world boxing,? said Salud. ?There is no importance given to governing bodies. There is no respect for history. Don Jose and other WBC officials are now looking for alternative venues to stage big fights. A candidate is Macau which I foresee will fall in love with boxing and has the potential to become a huge boxing mecca.?
Sulaiman also told Salud it is impossible to unify championships on a permanent basis.
?When there is a unified champion like Joe Calzaghe, it can?t be for long because the different organizations recognize their own mandatory challengers,? said Salud. ?Sooner or later, recognition will be withdrawn by some bodies because their contenders will be bypassed. In a way, it?s good for fighters that there are many world titles because of more opportunities to go for big purses.?
Salud advised Sulaiman to consider clamping down on excessive clinching and holding during a fight.
?We?ve been misled by Muhammad Ali who did a lot of clinching and holding,? said Salud. ?He was so popular that it was like he could do no wrong. Sonny Padilla was the only referee with the guts to warn him strongly for holding. Others would let it go without penalty. This is a bane on the popularity of boxing. It turns off the crowd and allows ill-prepared boxers to fight.?
Salud said in the 1960s, boxing cards drew hordes of Filipino fans to the stadium because the likes of Baby Lorona, Ric Magramo, Bert Somodio, Rene Barrientos, Pedro Adigue, Carl Pe?alosa, Marcel Juban and Ronnie Jones never backed down in the ring.
?It didn?t matter if a title was at stake or not,? said Salud. ?Fans showed up to watch fights because they got their money?s worth. Fighters came to fight, not hold or run or clinch. I believe what brings in the crowd is the product ? the fight itself, not the parachutist not the ring announcer, not the call-ins. It?s the product that sells, not the fringes.?
Sulaiman mentioned to Salud he would take note of his observation in the next convention and find a way to introduce a revolutionary change in the rulebook that will severely penalize holding and clinching.
Salud said he spoke to Sulaiman about the WBC lightflyweight title fight between champion Omar Ni?o Romero and challenger Brian Viloria last year. Romero won on points but was disqualified after testing positive for prohibited drugs. Instead of awarding the title to Viloria, the WBC ruled a no-contest and declared the throne vacant.
Salud cited a precedent in 1971 when Filipino Erbito Salavarria retained his WBC flyweight title on a split draw with Betulio Gonzalez in Venezuela. Salavarria was later stripped of the crown because it was alleged he drank a bottle containing amphetamine during the bout. Salavarria?s handlers denied spiking his drink and suspected Gonzalez?s camp put amphetamine in the bottle that was confiscated after the fight. Sulaiman, who was the ringside supervisor, gave the title to Gonzalez.
?Don Jose couldn?t believe we still remember that incident,? said Salud. ?He told me rules have changed since then.?
Rod Nazario was a judge in the Salavarria-Gonzalez bout and scored it 147-145 for the Filipino. Referee Mills Lane saw it 146-all and a Venezuelan judge had it 148-147 for Gonzalez. The controversial match sparked a free-for-all inside the ring where Salavarria?s cornerman Lito Mondejar fought off irate Gonzalez fans.
