The WBC celebrates 59 years

Today more than any other day, we remember that phrase of our dear Don Jose Sulaiman who said that: “Years run faster than the wind.” As incredibly as it seems, on a day like today but in 1963 our organization was founded at 13:00 pm in Mexico City.
One day that forever changed the way boxing is seen and lived, because during these 59 years, the WBC has sought in every possible way to enhance boxing. But above all to protect the health and well-being of all boxers as the highest priority, with our core values: loyalty, justice, integrity and respecting the social commitment that supports our history.
The WBC has been characterized since its establishment, as an organization that has fought for the defense of human rights, non-discrimination and especially for a great vocation of service for those who need it most, via the ethos and legacy of our Great Leader Don José Sulaimán`s resolution of: “live to serve others,” the greatest teaching he left us and with which today, the President of the WBC, Mauricio Sulaiman, lives his life and leads the organization.

We present 59 WBC important achievements that we want to highlight on this very special day:

1. Reduction of the duration of title fights from 15 to 12 rounds.

2. Official weigh-in 24 hours before the fight.

3. Fight against “Apartheid” a tyrannical, oppressive inhumane, cruel and wicked system developed in South Africa based on racial segregation.

4. Creation of the World Medical Committee, focused on protecting the boxer’s health by frequently organizing seminars to address important medical issues.

5. Creation of commemorative belts for fights close to May 5 and September 16, as an artistic gift from the WBC and Mexican culture, to the entire world.

6. Establishment of WBC Cares, an initiative that has brought joy, hope, inspiration, hugs and support to those who need it the most, with the support of multiple champions and personalities. It was created by Don José Sulaimán and Jill Diamond, current director of the program.

7. Formation of the Ring Telmex-Telcel program which Grants for young boxers and pensions for former champions.

8. Creation of intermediate divisions: Straw Weight, Light Flyweight, Super Flyweight, Super Bantamweight, Super Featherweight, Super Lightweight, Super Welterweight, Super Middleweight, Cruiserweight and Bridger.

9. Creation of BoxVal-Boxing with Values, together with Scholas Occurrentes, a non-religious foundation of Pope Francis.

10. Statues and monuments of boxers in various countries, including monuments of Carlos Monzón, a statue of Rocky Marciano, a monument of JC Chávez.

11. Creation of women’s championships with absolute protection for female boxing.

12. Seminars for ring officials, whose purpose is to fully prepare and update judges and referees, so that they can serve the boxers by applying the rules and criteria of the organization as an accurate measured and balanced standard.

13. Creation of the Red Card for ring officials, so that the referee and ring doctor can communicate in case of a language understanding barrier, so as to determine if a fighter can continue or not.

14. The largest purse bid in history $41,025,000 USD. Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte.

15. Creation of purse bids for title fights, in the event that both fighters do not reach an agreement to dispute a fight ordered by the WBC.

16. Approval of Use of electrolyte beverages for title bouts.

17. Appointment of Muhammad Ali as “King of Boxing” in 2012, for his great and unique contributions to the world of sports, the World itself and for having transformed boxing.

18. Creation of the Franchise Boxer, a special designation and privileged status that the body grants to a current world champion, that offers a special status towards the mandatory responsibilities.

19. Foundation of the “Mano Amiga” program, which caringly supports retired boxers with economic support.

20. Noise isolating headphones for judges while working, with the primary purpose to minimize distractions including crowd, TV commentators, fans and ambient hullabaloo.

21. Abolition of 6-ounce gloves that constituted a great injury risk to boxers.

22. Increase from two to three judges in fights to relieve the referee from keeping scores.

23. Boxers Weight Control: 30, 14 and 7 days before the official weigh-in.

24. Creation of the Green and Gold World Champion Belt, adopting these emblematic colors and becoming the most coveted title by boxers the world over.

25. Addition of the 4th Rope to the ring.

26. Creation of the José Sulaimán Fund, whose purpose is to support boxers and former boxers who are going through difficult economic problems.leading to hard times. The Fund is independently administered by the Nevada Community Foundation.

27. Family of 171 countries affiliated to the organization to continue improving sports practices. The WBC was initially established by 11 countries in 1963.

28. Works together with the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) for more than 30 years, to make boxing a healthier and safer sport, minimizing brain injuries.

29. Creation of Remote Scoring.

30. Works with Rocky Herron, a DEA agent, to combat the abuse of any type of drug, through interesting and emotional talks.

31. Creation of the Boxing Protocol against COVID-19.

32. Mandatory annual medical examination; before and after title matches.

33. Creation of the WBC Store, which allows boxing fans to obtain quality merchandise with the logo of the best boxing organization.

34. Presidential pardon in the United States for Jack Johnson, the first African American heavyweight boxing champion in history, who was wrongly convicted in 1913 of transporting women across State Lines for immoral purposes. The Lady was his Wife!

35. Visit of the Green and Gold Belt into outer space.

36. Transfer of Battling Siki’s remains from New York back to his homeland of Senegal.

37. Guinness Record of Don Jose Sulaimán, as the President with the longest time at the leader of a sports organization.

38. WBC Champions Night; held for the first time in Cancun in January 2006, in order to pay a great and worthy tribute to the world champions. A second edition was held in Cardiff, Wales in 2010.

39. Medical and life insurance for boxers contesting a title of the body.

40. José and Mauricio Sulaimán honored with the National Sports Award of Mexico, a distinction granted by the Government for their valuable contribution to the sport.

41. Inclusion of the photo of the two most iconic champions of each division on the Green and Gold Belt.

42. Auctions of HUBLOT watches to support the José Sulaimán Boxers fund (2012 and 2019).

43. Creation of the WBC University, offering online classes to train judges, referees and trainers.

44. WBC Women’s Conventions, where our boxers are given an equal place in order to improve all conditions for women in sport.

45. Creation of the WBC trainer’s belt, which is shaped like a towel and recognizes the
work of whoever is the guide/mentor of the world champion and his/her achievements in the ring.

46. Creation of the Clean Boxing Program together with VADA.

47. WBC Convention in Las Vegas in 2014, with more than 100 world champions under one roof.

48. Open scoring, an important advance in boxing that provides extra motivation for the
fighter by allowing the judges’ scores to be known at the end of rounds 4 and 8.

49. Guinness Record for the most attended fight (Chávez vs. Haugen) at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.

50. Creation of the WBC Amateur Committee.

51. Implementation of the boxing glove with the thumb attached, in order to avoid injuries to boxers’ eyes.

52. The best-selling fight at the box office was held, with the WBC welterweight belt in
dispute, between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao in 2015

53. José Sulaimán was Inducted into The International Boxing Hall of Fame In 2007.

54. Creation of the WBC Social Networks that keep fans closer to the organization, always considering their comments and proposals to continue improving.

55. Creation of WBC Membership, a loyalty program with attractive advantages, which works
to create a network between ring officials, promoters, doctors, managers, trainers and people related to our sport.

56. Guinness Record for Julio César Chávez, champion with the most title fights (31) of
the organization.

57. Participation of the organization in several Hollywood movies, such as Creed, Hurricane Carter, Ali, among others.

58 Award of honorary title to Iwao Hakamada, an innocent former Japanese boxer who spent 46 years in jail for unfair charges.

59. Creation of the WBC Nutrition Committee, in order to guide the entire boxing family
with various actions regarding their nutrition.

Today, each and every one of us who make up the Great Family of the World Boxing Council, celebrate our first 59 years, and although it is a day of joy and rejoicing, it is also a day of reflection, because our commitment is to continue working for the benefit of boxing.

Happy WBC Anniversary!