Mauricio Sulaiman
WBC President – Son of Jose Sulaiman
The events that took place in Pennsylvania, USA this Saturday, shocked the whole world in many ways. Former US President and current presidential candidate Donald Trump was the victim of an assassination attempt during his election campaign, but miraculously survived.
Such horrific attacks are a cause for great concern. The last time such an incident occurred in a neighboring country was in 1981, when then-President Ronald Reagan was shot and seriously injured. It is unthinkable that something like this could happen in 2024. It is very disturbing to see how divided our societies are and how social networks are sowing discord. There seems to be no limit to the violent world we live in.
Our morals, principles and values are constantly being challenged and the level of apathy is worrying. Why does the idea cross many people's minds that this is an orchestrated act resulting from political strategy? It can't be. Who could ever imagine such a thing? A human being was shot while thousands, maybe millions, of people watched on live television. People died in this despicable attack and yet people try to redirect attention to politics and create memes to laugh at an incident that could have changed the history of the world as we know it.
The World Boxing Council sends its heartfelt congratulations to Donald Trump, his family and friends, and all the people of this great nation, the United States of America.
Donald Trump is an important member of the boxing world, not only a big fan but also a promoter during the 80s and 90s. His partnership with Don King was very successful and it was exactly what helped Trump get out of the many financial problems he was having at the time.
Mike Tyson fought five times at Trump Plaza under Trump promotion. At the time, he was the greatest world champion and the most feared fighter on the planet. Julio Cesar Chavez also showed his extraordinary greatness in Atlantic City, and many more champions managed to make the venue the main world boxing destination for many years.
Then, and now, Donald Trump was seen as very active with Don King at press conferences, weigh-ins and in the ring.
The boxing world owes Donald Trump an enormous debt of gratitude for one of the most significant acts of justice, inclusion and adamant rejection of racism in the history of the sport.
World champion Jack Johnson was the first black boxer to win the heavyweight crown, winning the title in Australia in the early 20th century. Then came the bout that would decide his fate. Challenger James Jeffries was a former world champion who came out of retirement to face Johnson and was known as the “Great White Hope”. It was imperative that the heavyweight title return to white supremacy, so legendary promoter Tex Rickard built a stadium to host the bout, and there was great hope of a white man beating a black man.
Quite the opposite happened: Jack Johnson beat Jeffries so hard that it infuriated the audience and sparked race riots across the country, taking many black lives. At the time, discrimination was brutal and pervasive, especially in the southern United States, where it was deeply rooted and vicious.
This champion infuriated many white people because, rather than acting with self-control and restraint, he used his power and prestige to display himself: he wore flashy clothes, drove expensive cars, flaunted his success, and all of his women were white.
In 1913 he was tried and sentenced to one year in prison. His crime was driving from one state to another with a white woman, his wife. He was forced to flee the country and, upon his return five years later, was imprisoned and had all his property confiscated. Johnson died in poverty in 1946 and was considered a criminal under American law.
Over the decades, under the leadership of Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and others, and with the absolute and unconditional support of the WBC, many attempts were made to right, correct, rectify and compensate for the grave wrongs caused by despicable racism. The aim was to obtain a presidential pardon and restore the honor of the great champion. Petitions passed the Senate and reached the desks of Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, but no pardon was granted.
The final and biggest attempt came when the WBC sent a pardon request in 2018, and this time Sylvester Stallone took the case personally with passion and unwavering determination. Donald Trump granted Jack Johnson a presidential pardon on May 24, 2018, when he presented the pardon certificate to Jack's great-granddaughter Linda Haywood (R.T.), in a historic event in the Oval Office of the White House.
The opening of the world's most important sporting event, the Olympic Games, is fast approaching. Boxing is one of the original Olympic sports and has been part of the modern Olympic Games since 1904. Due to mismanagement by the international federation in charge of Olympic boxing, boxing is at risk of being excluded from Los Angeles 2028.
With AIBA (now IBA) already expelled from the IOC and boxing not being represented in the organisation, a newly formed body, World Boxing, is doing all it can to gain recognition from the IOC and save boxing as far as the Olympics are concerned.
All that is needed to achieve this recognition is the membership of a minimum of 50 countries. Many countries, including Mexico, are not yet affiliated with the WB, which is puzzling, because a federation cannot be established within the IOC unless it is formally organized according to IOC requirements. If boxing is removed from the Olympics, national boxing federations will cease to exist.
Our country will be bringing four boxers to Paris: two men and two women. Our hopes and dreams of winning medals are alive because Mexicans fight with all their heart and soul whenever they step into the ring.
Did you know that…?
Boxing has long been Mexico's most medal-winning sport, but Mexico has only won it twice in the past six Olympics, with diving now dominating the medal list.
Today's story
My father, Jose Sulaiman, was integral in making the partnership between Don King and Donald Trump happen. Don Jose always had advice for those who came to him for it. Like many boxing promoters, he told one special story many times: “Don was at the height of his glory. Mike Tyson was a gold mine, he had a TV deal that nobody could beat, and Las Vegas gave Don a very lucrative endorsement to promote his shows there.
One day Don King told me that a man named Donald Trump had offered him a partnership on very attractive terms, but he had turned it down because he was so used to life in Las Vegas and things were going well for him. So, not to be rude to him, I told him to take the offer from Atlantic City, and Las Vegas would come back with a bigger offer because there was competition. And when Don King finally returned to Las Vegas, he signed Mike Tyson to the biggest contract in history.
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