Don Jose`s Dream Continues

By James Blears

I have never met a man like Jose Sulaiman Chagnon before and I`m absolutely sure I`ll never come across a person quite like him ever again…a once in a lifetime fulfilment of destiny

Don Jose was a colossus, who changed the cauliflower eared, bludgeoned face of boxing and gave it a new fresh and humane complexion. As an architect of the Modern Era, he introduced new rules to protect boxers, improving safety and paying attention to their health, as well as their long- term wellbeing, during and long after the bright lights had dimmed and the chorus of cheers had faded with the final toll of the bell.

He saw the epic fight between Ken Norton and Larry Holmes and their heart- rending bone weary exhaustion in the fifteenth and final round. Neither of them had anything left, but somehow and God knows how, they fought their hearts out and pummelled themselves to a standstill. Mind over matter, but it was demanding far too much and risking even more. Something had to be done.

Don Jose saw and understood that the limit for world title fights must be curtailed to twelve rounds so he tenaciously fought to get it done and on the books. Howls of protests followed from the other organizations, and warnings that it would end up with a logjam of draws. But Don Jose`s ruling stuck and it`s saved many lives. The black lights of weariness are precursor shadows, risking serious injury or even worse.

Another initiative was getting the thumb fused to the boxing glove. Time and again illegally thrusting thumbs had detached retinas and even blinded boxers. Mercifully, thumbing has now been eliminated.

His lifelong devotion to boxing started early. It was a tussle between boxing and baseball and boxing won by a short head. A desire to see the action, led the young Jose to the stadium. But he didn`t have enough money in his pocket to get in. So, they removed his shoes, took off his shirt, jammed some pillow like gloves on his hands and matched him against another boy roughly his own age and same size. The two of them flailed away in a ‘’Botanas Fight’’ much to the merriment and appreciation of the patrons, who threw handfuls of coins up on to the canvass to reward them.

Don Jose laughed, recalling he didn`t know whether he won the fight, but he was the first to remove his gloves and scoop up the coins. He got into trouble with his beloved father Elias, after his jaw had been broken by a punch, claiming it had been a baseball, being castigated, not for the fight or the injury, but for the lie. It was a life lesson.
As the son of immigrants to Mexico, young Jose had been on the receiving end of racial prejudice and always stood up to it. On a trip to South Africa when he was a commissioner, he witnessed the ugly face of apartheid on a train and protested vigorously on behalf of the person affected.

Don Jose`s first action as President of the World Boxing Council was to ban South Africa, until odious apartheid was consigned the dust heap of dictatorships. As the President of a free and democratic South Africa, President Nelson Mandela invited the World Boxing Council to hold its Convention there. The long road to freedom had finally been reached.

Boxers told Don Jose of their terrible and agonizing struggles in trying to make the weight on the day of the fight. The gnawing pangs of hunger the night before accompanied by raging thirst which deprives and steels sleep. So, the WBC introduced intermediate weight divisions and graduated weigh- ins thirty, fourteen, seven days and twenty- four hours before the fight. It allows the boxers to gradually as well as safely lose weight and then to rehydrate, so they aren`t weight drained and weakened.

Its evolution can be seen in Andrew Kluger`s BoxMed App to manage healthcare and weight control for boxers from the 172 countries affiliated to the WBC. It can be downloaded on a cellular phone and many champions and boxers continue to sign up for it, knowing it is their guardian of health.

Another innovation was introducing the fourth rope, which has saved many boxers trapped on them from banging their heads on the canvass if they get knocked down.

Don Jose saw and identified that doping would become an issue in boxing, just as it has in other sports. He pioneered the connection with VADA, the Voluntary Anti- Doping Agency run by Doctor Margaret Goodman. The random test for Champions and the first fifteen ranked fighters has been further developed by WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman, in the conviction that a drug induced advantage in boxing, can lead to catastrophic life- threatening consequences. There are also the long- term health consequences for those who ingest illegal substances. Inevitably: ‘’You use…you lose.’’

The World Boxing Council has also donated more than a million dollars to funding brain injury research, which is undertaken at UCLA. And the WBC has held Medical Congresses in different parts of the world.

Towards the end of his life, Don Jose worried and fretted about the hardships many ex-boxers face and struggle with during old age, often in dire poverty. He was haunted by images of old fighters dodging imagined blows and talking to themselves in a shadowland of dark corners.

With no fanfare, Don Jose from his own pocket had often privately helped former fighters, but he was determined to extend and formalize a policy for the faltering stars of yester year. The WBC established the Jose Sulaiman Boxers Fund in 2012. It gained a million dollars springboard boost by a charity auction by luxury watch company Hublot and thereafter there was a funding commitment by Don Carlos Slim, who had also united with Don Jose to establish Ring-Telmex offering scholarships to promising young boxers. This cradle of nurture has produced more than twenty world champions thus far. One of the first youngsters who joined it was Saul Canelo Alvarez.

The Jose Sulaiman Boxers Fund is independently managed and administered by the Nevada Community Foundation, which carefully assesses each case and allocates grants where they are most needed.

Don Jose wanted to extend boxing to every corner of the Globe. So close to his heart was the Middle East. He dreamed of, envisioned and fore saw The WBC Boxing Grand Prix, offering opportunities and the spotlight to young boxers the world over.

Although he foretold this, Don Jose sadly didn`t have time to witness it in person. This brilliant halo of inspiration has been transformed into a ring of reality thanks to his son Mauricio, and Turki Alalshikh whose vision, belief and commitment has enabled Saudi Arabia to become an oasis yielding dates for the most thrilling Boxing matches.

Jose Sulaiman who could sometimes be a trifle old fashioned and chivalrous, wasn`t initially keen on women fighting each other in the ring. But women boxers lobbied him and he took up their cause. Women`s boxing has developed, flourished and triumphed, striving for equality and progression. So many women champions have praised Don Jose for opening doors which were firmly closed.

The World Boxing Council champions WBC Cares. Don Jose and Jill Diamond established what has become a worldwide charity. Champions visit hospitals, schools, orphanages, prisons and community centres. They take toys and provide hugs, inspiration and hope. They also provide food and other vital resources. This is a lifeline and a beacon of hope, especially for desperately ill children and their parents, who are at their bedside. They are NOT alone.

It`s incredible to contemplate that one man, envisioned, oversaw, applied and implemented all of this. He worked tirelessly and never gave up, even when he was beset by health problems. The fact that this legacy has continued and is expanding, is due to Don Jose`s youngest son Mauricio. Both were unanimously elected as President and both father and son have justified that unwavering confidence, every day and in every way.

Don Jose was seriously injured in a press conference of Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis which got out of hand. A melee of people surged through a curtain and knocked Don Jose over a table. He suffered serious knee, hip, head and dental injuries. Thereafter, he needed the support of a cane and he often suffered with residual lingering aches and pains.

Sometimes when the burden of his work made him weary, he confided he was beginning to feel old. When that happened, we urged him to remember the longevity of his father Don Elias, who lived to ninety-nine, telling him that on this scale he still barely a teenager! He loved it, laughed and said it was like a tonic to him.

The Sulaiman family home was and is a haven for everyone in Boxing. Dona Martha opened their doors to all, cooked fabulous food and welcomed everyone. Jose and Martha were equally at home talking to a Pope, A Duke or a dustman. A superstar or a sparring partner. They didn`t make the distinction. It`s what`s made and bonded the World Boxing Council into a cohesive worldwide family.

Don Jose passed away aged eighty- two, following heart surgery at UCLA. He`d hoped it would give him the opportunity of ten more years of active life, as he lived to serve, but sadly it was not to be.

Yet Jose Sulaiman crammed so much into one lifetime. As his son Hector said after one memorial service in the Old Basilica of Guadalupe: ‘’He was more than a man.’’

Every May 30th we remember Don Jose`s birthday, life, work, friendship and magnificent leadership. He was a people person. Come what may his historic contribution will forever be remembered, along with his kindness and loyalty, a virtue he so valued and cherished.