LAS VEGAS – Mauricio Sulaiman was in need of a rest from it all, and asked if he could take a chair to sit.
After being painted as one of the evils plaguing boxing, his World Boxing Council getting cast as an outdated, unwanted element of the sport, Sulaiman saw Thursday that the whole Zuffa Boxing demonizing of sanctioning bodies was nothing but bluster.
In changes to the latest revived version of the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act introduced to the Senate by Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), the proposed law will now both allow Unified Boxing Organizations (UBOs) like Zuffa Boxing to work with the four major sanctioning bodies (WBC, WBO, IBF, WBA) and will also permit the bodies to carry more than one champion per weight class.
“There was a motion to change the [original Ali Act of 2001] and you had an impact on promoters, fighters and organizations, and then everything got complicated in the style it was presented, with so much aggression and so much bulldozing,” the WBC president said Thursday at a news conference for the new monthly TNT/DAZN boxing series that has has fighters promoted by former rivals Top Rank, Premier Boxing Champions and Golden Boy Promotions all vying for lightweight belts Saturday night at Virgin Hotels Resort Casino.
Zuffa Boxing’s original push to rank its own fighters and award its own belts by eschewing co-promoted bouts with others and eliminating the sanctioning bodies’ presence was a short-lived effort.
Zuffa-signed cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia was stripped of his belt by the IBF, and now Zuffa is planning a September 12 card headlined by its recent addition, WBC No. 1-ranked welterweight title challenger Conor Benn versus WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia of Golden Boy.
Garcia is such an advocate for the WBC he wore his belt over his shoulder on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” and he previously retained WBC cheerleaders at an event before he first won the belt in February.
After efforts were made by Zuffa Boxing to exclude Sulaiman from the ring in September for Terence Crawford’s undisputed super-middleweight title victory over Canelo Alvarez at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Sulaiman said he’s had no talks with Zuffa over Garcia-Benn, but added, “There should not be a reason I’m not allowed into any ring.”
“It’s a great fight,” he said. “Garcia is the greatest ambassador of the WBC, with the belt, cheerleaders, and everything. And Conor Benn has been really asking to fight for the WBC belt for many years. Both kids have a great story with the WBC, and I’m very proud.”
Sulaiman told BoxingScene that while Zuffa has lobbied politicians hard to push the new Ali Act through passage in the U.S. House of Representatives, he lobbied to protect the WBC cause, as well.
In addition to requiring promoters to provide financial disclosures to fighters, the original Ali Act sought to protect the fighters from onerous contracts, and another tweak before Senate consideration is to limit first-time contracts to three years before free agency
“The reality is boxing is a great sport, it’s a global sport, and there’s a law in the United States which you have to abide by,” Sulaiman said.
There was a sense of vindication from Sulaiman, whose father, Jose, preceded him as WBC president. He’s seen how yesterday’s rival can become tomorrow’s business partner.
“Boxing has been here forever,” he said. “Don King was the enemy of Bob Arum. There was a big fight, and then they were best friends. That’s happened in every country in the world. I am sure as long as it’s good for the boxers, and there are changes and revisions in the law to be good for the boxers, that’s what we most care about.”
He said he’s hopeful for a similar transition with Zuffa.
“I have never had a problem with anyone. I’ve known Dana White for many years – he’s a boxing man out of Boston. We all have our own way of being, our own style,” Sulaiman said. “Anyone who knows me knows I like to sit down, discuss things.
“I like to build bridges, make things for the better. And I have no animosity for anyone, but I will always defend my WBC with everything that I have – boxers especially.”
In other WBC matters, Sulaiman said the winner of interim middleweight champion Jesus Ramos’ September 19 title defense versus Ukraine’s No. 1 contender Meiirim Nursaltanov will get a title shot at full champion Carlos Adames next.
Sulaiman added he was pleased that WBC interim 154lbs champion Vergil Ortiz Jnr has ended his legal squabble with promoter Oscar De La Hoya, but noted Ortiz may still have to wait for a title shot should Fundora pursue a unification fight after his October 17 mandatory title defense.
In the meantime, he looked around the press room preceding Saturday night’s main event for the vacant WBC lightweight belt between Lamont Roach Jnr of PBC and William Zepeda of Golden Boy and reflected.
“This card features Golden Boy, Top Rank, PBC, ProBox, DAZN, ESPN Knockout, TNT … this is the way it should work,” Sulaiman said. “Sometimes, bad things happen for a good reason.
“I can see the sun is coming out. I can see people are smiling. I can see interest and hype around boxing, and hopefully we will continue going that way with the WBC building bridges of friendship and opportunities for the fighters.”
