Don José Sulaimán's achievements are remembered 11 years after his departure`
By Gabriel F. Cordero
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 17 Jan 2025
José Sulaimán was president of the WBC from 1975 until his death on January 16, 2014, and is considered the main leader in the history of professional boxing and for his social human sensitivity that united them in the constant search for the protection and life of boxers.
This Thursday, January 16, 2025, the memorial mass was celebrated after 11 years of his departure at the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City with the participation of world champions, boxers, trainers, ring officials, fans, press and friends of boxing in general along with the Sulaimán Saldívar Family.
Don Jose Sulaimán became one of the greatest leaders of world sport from Mexico, but his legacy was strengthened by his humanity and his personal family values.
In the more than 38 years that José Sulaimán was at the head of the World Boxing Council, the Mexican leader achieved crucial actions to change and improve boxing, and today we remember 10 of them.
1.- He reduced world championship fights from 15 to 12 rounds, a measure that was endorsed by the WBC Board of Governors, which has resulted in fewer misfortunes for boxers.
2.- The weigh-in 24 hours before the fight. This initiative by Don José benefited those who went into the ring without sufficient recovery time by weighing themselves in on the same day of the fight, which also caused a significant number of fatal accidents.
3.- Don José created, with the endorsement of the World Boxing Council, the intermediate divisions, which increased the number of champions and opportunities for boxers, in addition to avoiding the extreme sacrifice of boxers when making weight.
4.- He encouraged glove manufacturers to fuse the thumb to the rest of the glove, a situation that prevented accidents with open thumbs.
5.- In order to avoid further injustices, he worked with multiple boxing commissions to implement the use of instant replay, which prevents controversial and sometimes incorrect decisions in fights.
6.- He was the promoter of the open scoreboard that announces the cards after four and eight rounds, giving a different meaning to a fight, so that fighters know where they stand.
7.- Don José created, with the support of Jill Diamond, the WBC Cares program, in which sports figures dedicate themselves to visiting children in hospitals, carrying a message of love, hope and inspiration.
8.- With the help of important businessmen, he managed to obtain scholarships for legends of Mexican boxing.
9.- He created the “José Sulaimán Fund” with a fundraiser to offer support and assistance to boxers and former boxers from around the world who are going through difficult times.
10.- Don José created a Medical Committee, whose main base is at UCLA (University of California), where resources were allocated to the development of research programs for the benefit of boxers.
These vital changes transformed the world of boxing, making it safer, fairer and better.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Gabriel F. Cordero.
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