Round 12 with Mauricio Sulaimàn: Mental Health & Mental Wellness
By Mauricio Sulaimán
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 04 Jun 2025
Mental health is a topic that, fortunately, has garnered significant global attention in recent years, yet it has always carried a stigma that has caused significant problems for humanity.
Humans have always suffered from problems related to this issue. Before, it was easily labeled as madness, dementia, weirdness, and other adjectives used to label and stigmatize those who were going through a difficult time.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a turning point in finally putting an everyday face to mental health.
This happened because no human being escaped some type of situation related to this topic, from anguish, anxiety and worry, to stress, paranoia, and other manifestations caused by what happened in 2020 and the months and years that followed.
All of this was caused by the lockdown. Uncertainty, job changes, layoffs, salary cuts, deaths of family members or loved ones, dramatic news, and many more happenings that had all of us concerned.
The WBC has paid close attention to this issue and we can attest that we have acted in an exemplary manner, using our global platform to serve as a means of care for thousands of people.
Just as the global lockdown was confirmed in March 2020, our organization, through visionary individuals committed to society and peers, established from day one actions and activations that made a difference for the boxing community during these difficult times our generation was experiencing.
Jill Diamond called me days before the lockdown and suggested I organize what we called WBC Talks, a daily live video conference in English at 11:00 a.m. and in Spanish at 1:00 p.m., where I led conversations with various individuals and groups on topics of interest to keep the boxing community informed and entertained.
The first chapter was with pandemic experts. We had great speakers who talked to us about infections, prevention measures, government, and business actions, but the most important was the presentation by a psychologist who gave us the guidelines to follow throughout this nightmare, with a guide on what to do and what not to do to cope with the ordeal.
Thanks to that guidance, the WBC achieved the guideline, and we became world leaders for the multiple actions undertaken. They told us: get up, shower, and get dressed as if it were a work day, go to one place in your home and make it your workplace. Exercise, eat well, keep a schedule, don’t lie on the couch binge-watching television and gorging from the refrigerator.
What I mean is that it was during the pandemic that we prioritized mental health. We were able to get thousands of people active, interacting with others, creating new processes, protocols, and purpose, all of which led to a great deal of meaningful action for those who would otherwise have been locked away, suffering from the demons of a mental health issue.
We all go through tough times at some point, and there are cases that manifested acutely with serious consequences. Currently, the WBC continues to support this issue through motivational talks, workshops, and a variety of programs through WBC Cares, WBC University, and the WBC members in general.
Jermall Charlo is one of the clearest examples. Our former middleweight champion, Jermell’s twin, who was also our super welterweight champion, was years ago scheduled to defend his title when, unfortunately, he suffered a shoulder injury. This led to inactivity and, eventually, a mental health crisis involving home issues, alcohol, and other issues which sent him spiraling downward.
The easiest thing would have been to vacate him as a WBC world champion, turn the page, and move on. Instead, the WBC chose to stand firm by his side and do everything possible to get him well, even at the cost of horrible criticism by people who have no concern about understanding that boxers are human beings.
I spoke with him constantly and in one of those calls, he told me something that stuck with me and led us to offer him unconditional support during his hell. He told me, “Mauricio, I beg you not to take the WBC title away from me. Being WBC champion is the only thing that motivates me to stay alive and not do something stupid.”
I met with him several times until he reappeared back in the ring, but now in a higher weight category. This past Saturday, he had his second fight at super middleweight and won convincingly by knockout, which gave me great satisfaction and emotion.
My dear Jermall looked very good physically and emotionally. I wish him the best of success!
DID YOU KNOW?
Ryan Garcia is a boxer who achieved immense popularity with a tremendous social media following. Today, he has more than 12 million followers!
We’ve been close to him since his early days, but unfortunately, he’s fallen victim to serious mental health issues that have led him to a terrible decline.
He’s a good young man, but he suffers from mental disorders, and when alcohol and drugs were added to this, they led him to a dangerous precipice.
I deeply regret that our multiple attempts to help him have been in vain, and neither he nor his advisors have allowed the WBC and the Sulaimán family to treat him. May God watch over him and give him light to find the path to goodness through specialized clinics and therapies.
Today’s Anecdote
My father was a visionary and in many areas of boxing, he implemented things that no one had even thought possible.
It was the WBC that initiated mandatory anti-doping testing, even before many other sports. Don José was determined to find ways to make boxing safer and fairer, so the fight against doping in boxing was one of his top priorities.
I remember him telling us, “You don’t know what drugs can do to your body and mind. Boxing is dangerous if someone has an advantage over their opponent. There are many substances, and in most cases, the fighter has no idea what their trainers or friends are giving them.” My dad used to tell an example to demonstrate how drugs can seriously harm those who take them. “Many years ago, I was on a very strict diet, and a friend gave me some pills to stop me from feeling hungry. One night in New York, I got so anxious while watching on TV the movie called Eyes of Laura Mars, that I had to run down to the lobby and decided to sleep there. A few days later, I took your mom to the movies, and suddenly I felt terrible and had to run out of the theater. I went to a doctor, and it turns out the pills my friend gave me were amphetamines that were causing schizophrenic attacks.”
I welcome your comments contact@wbcboxing.com.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Mauricio Sulaimán.
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By Mauricio Sulaimán, Wed, 04 Jun 2025