Round 12: Golovkin with a Great Mission Ahead

By Mauricio Sulaimán – WBC President – Son of José Sulaimán

The well-known world champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin was elected as the new president of the group called World Boxing (WB), the international federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to oversee everything related to boxing within the Olympics.

This is great news that brings high expectations for boxing’s return to a golden age in the Olympic Games.

WB was created a short time ago, and the founding president, Boris van der Vorst, carried out a Herculean task along with his team, achieving recognition from the IOC after boxing had been removed from the list of Olympic sports due to the terrible administration of the past international federation, the AIBA, which led our sport to the darkest place in history.

There is much work to be done, but Golovkin’s election brings very important inspiration to the global boxing community.

There are three models of competitive boxing: Amateur Boxing is practiced globally from childhood, with three-round bouts; Olympic-Style Boxing is essentially amateur boxing but at the highest level, organized and controlled by the national federations of each country with an eye toward international competitions, qualifiers, and the Olympic Games; and finally, Professional Boxing, where fighters are paid to compete in bouts of 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 rounds.

Boxing has brought 14 Olympic medals to Mexico and over 200 world champions. We are a global powerhouse, and it is the true sport of Mexicans.

Once again, a magnificent boxing card took place in Saudi Arabia this past Saturday, where Mexican boxing shone brightly. The popular “Guerito” from Tepito debuted in professional boxing at 16 years old, achieving a unanimous decision victory as part of Team Benavidez, who has adopted him, aiming to create an idol. Two great champions, who should be considered Mexican, successfully defended their world titles with tremendous knockouts.

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the WBC Super Flyweight World Champion who also conquered the WBO title in his previous fight, defeated the brave WBA Champion, the Argentine Fernando “Puma” Martinez, giving him a real beating for 10 rounds until he was knocked out by a precise and crushing left hook.

Bam is an extraordinary boxer who has defeated the best super flyweights in the world, including Gallo Estrada, Carlos Cuadras, Pedro Guevara, and Thailand’s Srisaket Rungvisai; he is already considered among the top on the pound-for-pound list.

The also Mexican David Benavidez knocked out Britain’s Anthony Yarde in the sixth round in what was the main event of this card, which concluded at 7 a.m. local time. Benavidez is also one of the best pound-for-pound fighters and has set his sights on the cruiserweight division for the beginning of next year.

I was in Japan to supervise the vacant bantamweight title fight, which was contested between two Japanese warriors. Takuma Inoue conquered the vacant title by defeating his compatriot Tenshin Nasukawa by unanimous decision in the main event of a card organized by Teiken Promotions at the Toyota Arena in Tokyo.

The WBC crafted an emblematic belt for this special occasion called the Samurai Belt, which will be a special trophy for the winner.

The Mexican, Carlos Cuadras, ranked number one, decided to conclude a 17-year professional career, following his recent technical knockout loss in the eighth round against the Japanese Tomoya Tsuboi, also at the Toyota Arena in Tokyo.

This bout marked a significant closing for a boxer who remained among the best in his division for over a decade. Tsuboi, considered one of Japan’s super flyweight prospects, elevated his record to 3-0 (2 KOs) on a night that will stand as the farewell of a Mexican historic fighter.

I will depart for Bangkok, Thailand, to celebrate our annual Convention , which will be a great closing to this historic year for our organization. We already have 1,200 registered Convention attendees, which is incredible considering the distance to the Land of Smiles, and there will be many surprises that we will announce.

Did you know…

The most important fight in Japanese history was starred by two great champions, Joichiro Tatsuyoshi and Yasuei Yakushiji. It was a war fought between the boxers of rival companies.

Tatsuyoshi  was returning from an injury that caused him to vacate his WBC title for a time, while Yakushiji conquered it and had to fight mandatorily. It was a war that lasted all twelve rounds, and both boxers finished exhausted with bloody cuts above their eyes. Yasuei won by split decision, confirming himself as the WBC Bantamweight World Champion; that same belt will now be disputed by Tenshin and Takuma, also with rival promoters, Teiken vs. Ohashi.

Today’s Anecdote…

I have spent a few days in Japan, and the memory of Don José, with countless anecdotes, emerges at every moment. I took my usual walk, which I call the “WBC Walk,” and headed to what was my father’s favorite spot, the cafe in the New Otani Hotel. My old man would sit there every morning to drink coffee in front of the large window overlooking the traditional Japanese garden—a beautiful place with waterfalls, multicolored fish, and trees that form a dreamlike stroll. That was the host hotel for Mike Tyson’s fight when the biggest upset in boxing history took place, as Buster Douglas knocked him out in 1990. Mr. Honda told me how on one occasion in the Kobe steak restaurant, a very exclusive one in that hotel, my father ate two fillets of the exclusive Japanese meat, that was after enjoying the delicious yellow corn soup and salad bar, and he finished with a large piece of melon… “Oh, Mr. Honda, I think I overdid it, I ate too much, but this was my cheat meal because I’m on a very strict diet.”

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