By Mauricio Sulaimán – Son of José Sulaimán & WBC President
The Holy Father, Pope Francis, has given a significant number of messages in response to two events that have impacted the world in an unusual way.
Firstly, concerning the terrible invasion of Russia in Ukraine, which this month marks a year since it began, nowadays the topic gets lost, until another bombing happens and It reminds us that in the midst of 2023 we are experiencing a situation like this.

The other event is the earthquake that has caused so much damage to Turkey and Syria. The images are terrifying and the need for help is urgent and imminent. The Pope’s messages are a guide of wisdom and compassion for those who read them and they help to put ideas and feelings in order as well as perspective.
Pope Francis has the ability to say much in just a few words and to make succinct sense, where reason does not exist. He is, without a doubt, the spiritual leader that the world needs today and always.
I will never stop being grateful to my brother Héctor for having considered and included me, in that magical journey, when we attended an audience with the Pope in one of the first sessions of the Pontifex Scholas Ocurrentes Foundation.
At the beginning of 2016, Román Rodríguez, from Spain, sought out Héctor and proposed that he lead the opening of Scholas México. It was in February of that year that the meeting with José María del Corral and Enrique Palmeyro took place to shape the program for Mexico, which was ratified before His Holiness in the audience on February 3.
In the process, the proposal to create, in addition, the BoxVal program (Boxing with Values) was shaped to add to the purpose of educating the largest number of people in the world through sport, art and technology.
I remember that in said audience there was a group of firefighters, who presented an activity report, and upon taking the floor, Pope Francis said: “I pray every day that humanity has work and I also pray everyday that firefighters never have work.” What an incredibly meaning…!
Suddenly, without anyone knowing it, they handed me the microphone to explain BoxVal’s proposal, and there I was standing speaking in front of Pope Francis, the way he looked at me made me so comfortable, reassured me from the first moment, and allowed me to fluently explain the intentions and purposes to join the boxing to his non-religious foundation.
The first proposal was to carry out an inaugural fight for Peace; precisely one between a Catholic against a Muslim, Canelo Álvarez vs. Amir Khan.
Boxing is the noblest sport that exists, and the one with the greatest chance of transmitting values.
This first experiment was a complete success. The Olive Tree of Peace was presented at a press conferences held in England, NY and Los Angeles, and it was planted during the weigh-in ceremony outside the recently opened T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the fight took place.

“ Fight for peace belts are handmade by Adrian Pallarols a craftsman from Argentina who is very close to Pope Francis”
At the end of the audience, we had the opportunity to go to a private meeting with him. It was there that the Holy Father gave me his appreciation of what boxing is, and how it occurs every day in life. “There is no small rival, no one is superior, and there is always the possibility of winning in any activity of life.
If we look at what happens with the most fearsome snake, the cobra and the mongoose, the logic would be that cobra would easily annihilate the so-called Ninja Rat, but no, they use their abilities and analyze the snake’s weakness and establish a strategy, and they carry it out to defeat their opponent. So, he gave me his analogy of what boxing is in life.
BoxVal is celebrating eight years of great activity worldwide. Boxing is a sport that complies with a great diversity of acts of social responsibility in a natural way.
It combats health conditions by promoting physical activity, keeps children and young people away from the streets and from the many temptations, and other problems; it serves as a means of uniting entire families and neighborhoods. Also, the boxer has the moral authority to convey powerful messages when they give an awareness talk.
BoxVal has organized a variety of fights for peace in various countries. It does a variety of activations every month around the world, with the participation of thousands of people. Visits from two great WBC champions at Scholas hearings turned out to be great. Julio César Chávez, in the company of Julio Jr., had the opportunity to receive the blessing in March 2018, while the then WBC heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder, had his moment in December 2019. The smile with which His Holiness greeted Deontay was magical and wonderful.
Did you know…?
Some of BoxVal’s Ambassadors are boxers who have participated in events and others who continue to do so. They are: Saúl El Canelo Álvarez, Amir Khan, Oscar de la Hoya, Bernard Hopkins, Julio César Chávez, Tyson Fury, Gennady GGG Golovkin, Chocolatito González and many others. further…