Round 12: Olympic Boxing Is Back
By Mauricio Sulaimán – WBC President – Son of José Sulaimán
The world of Olympic sports, is in mourning after the profound loss of one of the main pillars of the International Olympic Committee and the Mexican Olympic Committee, Don Olegario Vázquez Raña. This past Friday, Don Olegario passed away, causing a profound worldwide sadness. May God rest him in His holy glory. Our most profound condolences to his family and loved ones.
The Vázquez Raña family, along with brothers Mario and Olegario, represented Mexico at the International Olympic Committee, holding a seat on that global body for decades and providing our country with a high level of performance and benefits for Mexican sports.
A huge void remains with the lack of a leader capable of bringing order to Olympic sports activities and the eternal complications in administration due to the conflicts that the international and national federations of some sports generate and hinder the development of our athletes.
Boxing has been rescued and will be part of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Mexico and some other important boxing countries have not yet joined the new international federation, World Boxing, who has received the IOC acceptance to run boxing worldwide in amateur style boxing and, on the contrary, remains affiliated with the IBA, which caused irreparable damage to amateur boxing programs around the world for a couple of decades.
Japan is an example to follow; its amateur boxing programs are a success, and with great work in recent years, it has led the country of the rising sun to become one of the greatest powers in professional boxing. They currently have nine world champions, led by one of the best on the pound-for-pound list, Naoya the Monster Inoue, the undisputed super bantamweight champion, and WBC bantamweight champions Junto Nakatani and Kenshiro Teraji, the flyweight champion, who is a 2 division WBC world champion.
The good relationship between amateurs and professionals is the perfect model, and that is why Japan, England, and the United States are always at the top of the world.
Mexico has undertaken a monumental effort with independent boxing groups, and the WBC created an amateur boxing committee within our structure, with marvelous results for the last 15 years.
This Saturday, the Green and Gold International Tournament was held in Neza, Mexico, with 280 fighters participating in top-level bouts. Erik and Pelucho Morales programs in Tijuana, as well as Monroy in Tijuana and the northern region of the country. The UMBE, led by Carlos El Bondojo Hernández, the Chepera family, the new Jordán with Vladimir, and many other groups keeping boxing alive in our country.
World championship boxing returned to Cancun with a spectacular boxing event. WBC strawweight champion Yokasta Valle moved up two weight classes to challenge former champion and Olympic medalist Marlen Esparza. Former Olympian Joselito Velazquez also achieved a great victory over the feisty Adolfo Castillo. In the main event, the interim WBC lightweight world champion, William Camaron Zepeda, defeated former world champion Tevin Farmer. This was a rematch after a split decision late last year in Riyadh. It was a fight in which the champion dominated the first half and Farmer came back strongly to dramatically close out the final rounds, resulting in a majority decision victory for the Mexican.
On Friday, I had the great honor of being present at the famous press conference, La Mañanera, with our President, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, to give details of the National Boxing Class. I was accompanied by the great Mexican champion, Julio Cesar Chavez, known as Mr. KO, as he was nicknamed by legendary ESTO journalist Jose Luis Camarillo. Julio, as usual, caused a sensation and left a powerful message with the sincerity of his testimony regarding his successful rehabilitation after hellish years of addiction. “Fentanyl can’t just hurt you, it kills you.”
The national class will be held next Sunday, April 6th, throughout Mexico. Miguel Torruco visited and met with the 32 governors and sports institutes, and the enthusiasm is indescribable. Mexico will be united “For Peace and Against Addictions” through a massive boxing class, 30 one-minute rounds led by champions from across the country.
Did you know… The guests of honor at the Zocalo in Mexico City are Oscar De La Hoya and Roberto Duran, who, along with dozens of champions, will participate and witness this historic event.
Today’s anecdote…
This week, a new member of the Ring Telmex Telcel team was welcomed; Eddy Reynoso shared the story of his newest talent, 16-year-old Kevin Jamay, a young man who promises to become a champion and emulate the journey of that boy who entered the first generation of Ring Telmex Telcel, a shy, red-haired, freckled young man named Saul Canelo Alvarez. My dad met one day with his dear friend, Carlos Slim, and returned home very happy… “My son, I need us to work on a proposal for a scholarship program for boxers. Next week, join me for a meeting with Arturo Elias to present it and get it started. Don Carlos is determined to find a way to support boxers so they can dedicate themselves fully to their careers and not have to struggle with two or three jobs in addition to their training. Thus was born this program, unique in the world, which to date, in its 17 years of existence, has produced 24 world champions and provided a lifetime pension and social security to 27 former world champions.
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