WBC, THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS BOXING BODY
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 14 Nov 2007
The World Boxing Council was initially created by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, when they met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963 to achieve the unity of all boxing commissions to control the expansion of boxing.
The WBC is one of three major organizations recognized by International Boxing Hall of Fame which sanctions world championship boxing bouts, together with the IBF and WBA. In proclaiming November the WBC Month, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo considered the WBC as the ?world?s biggest, most prestigious and influential boxing organization? consisting of 168 member-nations and 14 affiliated federations.
The WBC green championship belt depicts the flags of all member-nations of the organization; the flags of the original 12 member-nations are shown on the belt?s ovular, gold center-plate. A WBC title belt is a highly desired collector's item.
Among those who have been recognized by the WBC as world champions were Wilfredo Benitez, Wilfredo Gomez, Julio Cesar Chavez, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Salvador Sanchez, Hector Camacho, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Carlos Monzon, Roberto Duran, Juan Laporte, Felix Trinidad, Edwin Rosario, Mike Tyson, Alexis Arguello, Nigel Benn and Lennox Lewis.
Former WBC presidents include Luis Spota and Ramon G. Velazquez of Mexico, Onslow Fane of Great Britain and Justiniano N. Montano, Jr. of the Philippines. The organization's current president is Jose Sulaiman.
Sulaiman is a Mexican of Lebanese-descent. He heads the WBC for more than three decades. Sulaiman speaks Spanish, English, Arabic, Italian, Portuguese and French. In 1968 he joined the WBC and on December 5, 1975 was unanimously elected president of the WBC and has remained as the top administrator until today.
His astute management made the WBC powerful as the original sanctioning body WBA. Among the changes proposed by him are reduction of world championship bouts from 15 rounds to 12, the official weigh-in 24 hours prior to each bout and the creation of intermediate weight divisions.
The first WBC Convention in Manila was in 1967, under then WBC President Spota. Three years later, in 1970, the WBC Annual Convention was taken to Manila for the second time when the WBC leaders were both from the Philippines, President Montano and Secretary-General Rodrigo Salud. Thirty seven years have passed and the WBC returns to Manila for its 45th annual meeting, third in the Philippines this time under Sulaiman.
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