Jose Sulaiman has resigned as president of the WBC - good riddance!

[Lance Uppercut]

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New WBC handwraps policy: For safety or profit?

Kelly Pavlik sat on a folding chair in his dressing room late Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. Blood seeped from ugly cuts above both eyes. Twenty minutes earlier, he’d lost a hotly-contested battle to Sergio Martinez and, with it, the middleweight championship of the world.

Kelly was physically and emotionally spent. Leaning forward on his chair, he spat a gob of bloody saliva onto the floor.

World Boxing Council executive secretary Mauricio Sulaiman, the son of WBC president Jose Sulaiman, and Ed Pearson, the WBC’s on-site supervisor for Pavlik-Martinez, entered the dressing room.

“The handwraps,” Mauricio said.

Over the years, the WBC has industriously collected boxing memorabilia. Much of this memorabilia, according to Mauricio, has been joyously given by fighters as a sign of respect for his father.

On occasion, fighters have been less joyful about it. On the night that Pavlik won the middleweight championship from Jermain Taylor thirty months ago, Mauricio left Kelly’s dressing room with the new champion’s trunks.

Pavlik was not pleased.

“It was a misunderstanding,” Mauricio later explained. “I was led to believe that Kelly wanted the trunks to be presented as a gift to my father because of his respect for my father and the WBC. When it was brought to my attention that Kelly wished to have the trunks back, I arranged quickly to return them.”

As was pointed out to Mauricio that night, federal law provides, “No officer or employee of a sanctioning organization may receive any compensation, gift, or benefit, directly or indirectly, from a boxer [other than a sanctioning fee].” Violation of this law is a crime punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine of $20,000.

Earlier this year, the WBC added a new wrinkle to its way of doing business. It instituted a rule requiring that the on-site supervisor at a WBC-sanctioned fight inspect each fighter’s handwraps after the fight for evidence of wrongdoing.

This was done in response to the much-publicized incident in which Antonio Margarito’s hands were found to have been improperly wrapped, according to Joe Dwyer, a member of the WBC Board of Governors.

Well and good.

Then things get not so good.

According to Dwyer, “After the on-site supervisor inspects the handwraps, he sends them to WBC headquarters in Mexico City for further inspection. Then, if necessary, they’re sent to the lab for further study.”

To Dwyer’s knowledge, there has never been a need for the WBC to send any of the handwraps to the lab for further study.

The WBC policy only makes sense if one believes that the opposing fighter’s camp (which observes the handwrapping process), the governing state athletic commission (which regulates the handwrapping process) and the on-site WBC representative (who examines the handwraps after the fight) are all incapable of doing their job.

Of course, there’s another factor to be considered. The handwraps that are sent to WBC headquarters in Mexico City are important pieces of boxing memorabilia. They have sentimental value and are sometimes worth a lot of money.

Craig Hamilton is the foremost expert on boxing memorabilia in the United States. How much does he think the handwraps from Pavlik-Martinez are worth?

“They’re nice pieces,” Hamilton answers. “With proper authentication, which you have here, I could sell the Martinez and Pavlik handwraps together for a minimum of a thousand dollars. And they might bring considerably more.”

When asked what the WBC does with the handwraps after they’re inspected in Mexico City, Dwyer answered, “I would assume they’re discarded.”

It’s hard to imagine Jose Sulaiman throwing a thousand dollars worth of boxing memorabilia in the garbage.


By Thomas Hauser
New WBC handwraps policy: For safety or profit?
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From Dan Rafael


The WBC and its president-for-life, Jose Sulaiman, are nothing more than a bunch of greedy bullies whose recent actions illustrate my longstanding assessment to a tee.


As for the bullying nature of the organization, the WBC seems to think it runs boxing and that it can call the shots -- that it can force any fighter in its rankings or a holder of one its titles to bow down and kiss the ring whenever Sulaiman snaps his greedy little fingers.


Recently, Sulaiman sent a letter via e-mail to unified junior welterweight titleholder Devon Alexander. Copied on the letter, which I got a copy of, were WBC executive Mauricio Sulaiman (Jose's son and chief excuse maker) Don King (Alexander's promoter), and Dana Jamison (King's top lieutenant).


Was it a letter congratulating Alexander on his outstanding knockout win against Juan Urango to unify titles March 6? No.
Was it a letter complimenting Alexander for being a role model, a credit to boxing and one of the most humble, respectful young men you will ever meet? Nope.


Instead it was a letter threatening Alexander's status as WBC 140-pound titleholder. Alexander's transgression? He had the audacity to say that he would like to face WBO titleholder Timothy Bradley Jr., whom many regard as the best junior welterweight in the world not named Devon Alexander.
In his letter, Sulaiman wrote, "I read today in the papers that you want to fight Timothy Bradley for the WBO championship. I appreciate the information and I kindly ask you to immediately present the resignation to the WBC championship, as it seems that our organization is not up to your stature as a boxer. The WBC green and gold belt has been the dream of many boxers in the world, but apparently it is not yours. I will be waiting for your resignation and may you have good luck in your fight."


Have you ever read something so arrogant and, frankly, delusional in your life? Let me see if I have this straight: Alexander, one of the finest fighters in the world, wants to fight another top fighter and Sulaiman takes offense? Let me tell you what I take offense to: that Sulaiman tarnishes boxing on almost a daily basis with his nonsense and by regularly forcing terrible mandatory fights and working against great matchups, like a Bradley-Alexander fight would be. Who the hell does he think he is?


Kevin Cunningham, Alexander's manager and underrated trainer, was about as stunned as I was when he read the garbage from Sulaiman.
"Devon is calling out Bradley because Bradley and Devon are considered the two best junior welterweights in the world and because that's the fight fans want to see to determine who is the best junior welterweight in the world," said Cunningham, who was disgusted by the letter and said Alexander has no intention of giving up his title.


If the WBC wants the belt back, it will have to strip Alexander and then prepare for a lawsuit. I actually hope the WBC goes for it and strips Alexander, because he would win his lawsuit and hopefully put the miserable organization out of business once and for all.


The Sulaimans did not respond to a request through their publicist for a comment.
"I've never heard of anything like this in my 45 years of living -- that a sanctioning body would want to strip its champion because he wants to fight of the best fighters out there," Cunningham said. "It's not like we are trying to avoid a mandatory. We have no problem making our mandatory when it is due. To get a letter like this is insane. How do you tell a guy to resign his title when he did nothing wrong? This sanctioning body is asking the kid to resign his title because he said he wants to fight the best guys out there? Are you [expletive] kidding me?"
I wish Sulaiman was.


Now onto the topic of the WBC's blatant and unending greed. I laughed out loud when I read a missive from Sulaiman expressing "concern" for the way sanctioning bodies use interim titles "when they should be used strictly when a champion leaves a title inactive for medical or legal problems."
The WBC, of course, is historically the worst offender in the business this side of the WBA when it comes to approving interim belts for no apparent reason. However, Sulaiman forgot to mention that he is responsible for the WBC's insane reliance on interim belts as a revenue stream.


In any event, Sulaiman said he would recommend to his puppet group of WBC governors at the annual convention in November that they institute the WBC "silver title," which would be a "substitution of an interim championship that does not represent a real title, when it is approved only for a fight without real significance."


In other words, every fight should have some dumb belt attached to it because he thinks it somehow helps the sport. Of course, the real reason is so Sulaiman can use the fees to line the WBC coffers and his own bank account because there are too many promoters, managers and fighters out there who want to keep Sulaiman happy, so they go along with what is, in essence, extortion.


I loved how Sulaiman tried to justify the invention of another bogus title by saying "ways must be found to keep the interest of boxing fans in the world, who are depending on reform that the WBC has been doing for three decades."


What an absolute joke. The WBC, with so many reprehensible rulings, worthless forced mandatory fights and numerous approved mismatches, is responsible for much of boxing's downfall over the past two decades. Adding a silver belt, like it tried to add the diamond belt for catch weight fights, is more of the same old money grab.



Here's an idea for Sulaiman, one which I will give him for free and not charge a sanction fee: How about he strip Alexander, offer him a silver belt replacement and then crawl under a rock.

[Lance Uppercut]

---------------------------------------------------
The WBC has stripped Edwin Valero of the WBC lightweight title, and it will now be up for grabs in Huberto Soto vs TBA.

This is despite the fact that Valero made his madatory on saturday.

The alphabet gangs reasoning- because he needs time for his cut to heal, and they don't want the title tied up. (fightnews)




I would seriously donate money to a terrorist group whose aim it was to destroy the alphabet gangs.

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Dan Rafael of ESPN.COM/BOXING

As usual, WBO, WBC should be ashamed


The hypocrisy of the WBC is just sick. Here's an organization that does as it pleases with no regard for common sense or fairness trying to punish a fighter for nothing more than dropping a couple of four-letter words.

After Cristobal Arreola was stopped in the 10th round by Vitali Klitschko on Sept. 26, he was upset and disappointed with his performance. Still, Arreola was man enough to do a postfight interview on HBO in the ring in the immediate aftermath of very tough loss. During that interview, Arreola dropped a few F-bombs. Mind you, he wasn't aiming them at anyone, and was certainly not doing it in a threatening manner.

Still, the WBC and its sanctimonious president for life, Jose Sulaiman, saw fit to ridiculously "suspend" Arreola for six months during its annual convention this week in South Korea.

According to the WBC news release, Sulaiman said there was no way he could allow a boxer associated with his organization "to express himself in such a vulgar way without getting a penalty."

I almost passed out when I read that garbage. Sulaiman should be suspended for life for all the detriment he has caused boxing.

The suspension can't prevent Arreola from fighting. He'll be back on HBO on Dec. 5. What it means is that the WBC will keep him out of its rankings for six months. But it was still a moronic move by the WBC, which regularly has ranked convicted felons and had fighters facing serious criminal charges fight for its titles.

I don't recall the WBC doing anything when in a television interview after a fight Mike Tyson threatened to rip out Lennox Lewis' heart and eat his children. Instead, the WBC made Tyson the mandatory challenger for Lewis.

And at this week's convention, the WBC announced that it made a deal with Tyson -- a convicted rapist -- to use a reproduction of his fist and forearm on the trophies given to recipients of the WBC's annual awards.

But Arreola swears and is punished? What a joke. This is boxing, not a convent.


-__________________________________________________ ____

Another desperate grab for cash by WBC
by Dan Rafael




• As much as I've punished the awful WBA for its title lunacy (not to mention pitiful rankings), did you really think I would allow the dastardly WBC to escape my wrath for its latest attempt to further destroy boxing?
The WBC, which also loves having multiple so-called champions in the same division (although not nearly as much as the WBA), now has yet another belt it wants to hand out -- for a fee, of course.
And get this -- it won't even represent any particular weight division. Instead, the WBC, in an effort to drum up more sanctioning fees, has invented something called the "WBC Diamond Championship," which WBC president Jose Sulaiman describes (presumably with a straight face) as "an honorary championship exclusively for fights between elite boxers."
Translation: "How can we at the WBC muscle in on the action and grab a few bucks when superstars fight in catchweight bouts? How about we just make up some phony title to attach to the match?"
(And, by the way, one would think that any championship fight should be between elite boxers, right?)


Undoubtedly, the first fight the WBC will be trying to squeeze cash out of is the one between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez, who are fighting Sept. 19 at 144 pounds without a title at stake.
Sulaiman said this new trinket was "approved by a unanimous vote of the WBC Board of Governors, and will actively participate to keep boxing as great as ever with new and exciting formats for the fans."
Translation: "We think boxing fans are stupid and we can make more money with this."


By the way, Sulaiman's "unanimous votes" have about as much credibility as the results from the recent Iranian presidential election.
Sulaiman went on to say, "The WBC believes that this belt will play a very important role in modern boxing as the fights between elite boxers called 'catchweight' fights have not been a complete success due to the fact that the advertising is only done for fans to know who is the best between two fighters and nothing else is at stake. The WBC will propose that the promotion renders homage to the two greatest fighters of such division, as they will be showcased in the belt."


Translation: "We'll do anything to make a buck, even something this stupid. Please, please, please, promoters and fighters -- give us your money!"
In conclusion, Sulaiman said, "I am very proud of this step taken by the WBC, as it will be in benefit of improving boxing, in benefit of the boxing fans of the world, as well as promoters, television and everybody involved in the sport of boxing."


Translation: "There's a sucker born every minute."


• Let's give credit where credit is due to promoter Gary Shaw. He has been criticized (including by me) for grabbing casino money and doing very little to help build a fan base for light heavyweight Chad Dawson. That's why, for example, Dawson fought in front of puny crowds in Las Vegas for his two fights with Antonio Tarver. Neither fight belonged there, and the pathetic gate receipts proved it. However, Shaw is taking a risk (because there are no financial guarantees) and bringing Dawson's Nov. 7 rematch with Glen Johnson to the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.; Dawson is from Connecticut. I hope Shaw and his staff get the word out so the risk pays off with a rocking crowd for an excellent fight. One downside, however, is that my pals at the WBC, which already has an active, uninjured titleholder in Jean Pascal, is sanctioning the fight for an interim title. Just what the world needs. Hey, at least it's not for the "Diamond Belt."


• The WBC hasn't limited itself to only interim titles and this "Diamond Belt" crap. Its rankings are equally disgusting. Take a look at the newest heavyweight rankings for just one example of how out of touch with reality they are. In another sign of the Apocalypse, the WBC ranks journeyman Ray Austin No. 2, meaning he looms as a possible mandatory challenger for the winner of the Vitali Klitschko-Cristobal Arreola bout. Isn't it bad enough that Austin already got one thoroughly undeserved title shot from the IBF and was obliterated by Wladimir Klitschko in two rounds in 2007?
• How about a few fights I hope happen: Tomasz Adamek versus Bernard Hopkins; Celestino Caballero versus Juan Manuel Lopez; any combination of fights between Timothy Bradley, Amir Khan and Devon Alexander; Edwin Valero versus Humberto Soto; and Hozumi Hasegawa versus Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko.


• There's supposed to be a purse bid Monday for Daniel Santos' junior middleweight mandatory title defense against Yuri Foreman. I think watching the bids be unsealed will be more exciting than the fight.


• Speaking of Santos-Foreman, you know a week can't go by without the wretched WBA making another horrific decision. The latest one is that it will sanction an Aug. 30 fight in Osaka, Japan, for an interim junior middleweight belt. Santos is supposed to defend against Foreman, but, hey, it's the WBA, so why not schedule yet another title bout in the same division? It's so much fun, right? In this case, the atrocity pits Japan's Nobuhiro Ishida (20-5-2, 7 KOs) against Marco Avendano (27-6-1, 19 KOs) of Venezuela in a rematch of a split decision Ishida won in December. Never mind that both fighters are utterly obscure and that neither journeyman even remotely deserves a title fight -- or even a title eliminator. But that doesn't matter, because the WBA won't be satisfied until it gives out multiple belts in all 17 divisions. After that happens, I'm sure the WBA will begin to create even more divisions so it can manufacture more garbage titles.





Another desperate grab for cash by WBC - ESPN

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[Lance Uppercut]

Although Kelly Pavlik is the WBC middleweight champion, and his last defense was against Marco Rubio, the WBC's own mandatory challenger, the WBC has inexplicably created an interim middleweight title which will up for grabs (for a small fee) in the Sebastian Zbik vs Domenico Spada July 11 fight.

source: fightnews.com




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From Dan Rafael's blog today at ESPN.COM/Boxing




I won't even get into the fact that the WBC has positioned Oleg Maskaev as the mandatory heavyweight challenger for Vitali Klitschko, even though Maskaev was knocked out by Samuel Peter a year ago to lose the title and since then has earned nothing but a pair of inconsequential wins against guys who wouldn't rank in the top 50.


Today, let's simply take a look at the junior middleweight division, where the WBC has created such nonsensical rankings that upon first look you might think they were just a mistake. Sadly, they aren't.


Vernon Forrest holds the title and Sergio Martinez holds the interim belt, yet the organization has allowed them both to keep fighting others without taking a stand and ordering a direct fight between them. Put that aside for a moment, though, and scroll through the top 10. I can barely get past the top three because they're so horrendous.


No. 1 is Alfredo Angulo. He is one of my favorite prospects and an absolute delight to watch because of his all-action style. But he has yet to fight anyone of serious quality, so to rank him as the No. 1 contender at 154 pounds is simply a joke. Unfortunately, it's not as cruel a joke as the next two so-called contenders.


No. 2 is Ricardo Mayorga, a former titleholder who pulled out of a February HBO bout against Angulo at the last minute, screwing up the card and disappointing a lot of people. But that isn't even the point. Get this: The WBC ranks Mayorga second in the world (I don't have him in the top 10), even though he hasn't won a fight at 154 pounds since a 2005 decision against Michele Piccirillo.


Since that fight four years ago, Mayorga has fought only three times. In those bouts, he is 1-2. He was thrashed and knocked out by Oscar De La Hoya in May 2006, won a decision in a super middleweight fight against the totally shot Fernando Vargas in November 2007, then got drilled by Shane Mosley in September. For these accomplishments, Mayorga deserves the No. 2 rank in the world? Maybe in bizarro world.


No. 3 is Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., which is one of the single worst rankings I have ever seen. In any division. In any organization. Ever.
This is clearly just the Mexico-based WBC sucking up to Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., the kid's father and one of the all-time Mexican greats, who held various WBC titles during his career.
To rank Chavez Jr. third in the world is an insult to anyone who believes rankings should be fair. Chavez shouldn't rank in the top 20, and that's being generous.


Chavez Jr. is undefeated, but he has faced nobody of remote quality in his career. Even his own handlers at Top Rank admit to pushing him extraordinarily slowly because he generates enormous money despite his limitations as a fighter. That's fine. Chavez headlines a Top Rank pay-per-view card on Saturday night from Tijuana, Mexico, against the thoroughly obscure Luciano Cuello. It's a card that could be pretty entertaining, but those who are going to buy it will do so because they enjoy watching Chavez fight or because they are interested in undercard bouts involving Fernando Montiel, Humberto Soto and Antonio Diaz.
Nobody -- and I repeat, nobody -- is going to buy the pay-per-view because they believe Chavez is the second coming of his father or will be facing a dangerous, world-class opponent.
Well, nobody except maybe the WBC.

[milmascaras1]

for those of you who hate the WBC and their corrupt business dealings, why don't you just boycott all WBC fights. it doesn't make any sense complaining about them if you continue to watch their fights. so my advice to you is this, boycott all regular HBO/SHOWTIME fights along with PPV events that have any WBC champions or contenders.

[generalbulldog]

I have to say I like Graciano Rocchigiani for basically suing and then bankrupting the WBC and it had to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy in 04, but the guy was too soft and was encouraged by other boxers to settle out of court with them. I wish he didn't and made the corrupt organization disappear. It was oh so close to forever disappearing. Close but no cigar!

[Nameless]

for those of you who hate the WBC and their corrupt business dealings, why don't you just boycott all WBC fights. it doesn't make any sense complaining about them if you continue to watch their fights. so my advice to you is this, boycott all regular HBO/SHOWTIME fights along with PPV events that have any WBC champions or contenders.

We don't hate the WBC, we hate what Sulaiman made out of it and we just said that boxing could exist without all these sanctioning bodies.

[armin]

"for those of you who hate the WBC and their corrupt business dealings, why don't you just boycott all WBC fights. it doesn't make any sense complaining about them if you continue to watch their fights. so my advice to you is this, boycott all regular HBO/SHOWTIME fights along with PPV events that have any WBC champions or contenders."

Hmmm I'm sure you defending them and standing up for them has nothing to do with them being from mexico...boycotting all those fights would hurt fighters more than the wbc. Sanctioning bodies are like cancerous parasites to boxing they'll do anything to make a buck.

[rjj tszyu]

I've been at Disneyland for the last 4 days and have heard no boxing news whatsoever, so when I read the title of this thread I was surprised but very happy indeed. Only to read through and be disappointed by the news that it is not really true.

Sulaiman is one of the worst men involved in boxing right now if not the worst and the sooner he is gone the better. But one question comes to my mind quite regular! Could boxing ever truly survive or recover to it's former greatness without sanctioning bodies? I'm sad to say I doubt it!! The top dogs (i.e. Mayweather) are too greedy let boxing be run by organisations like the UFC in MMA as he would get paid less due to his undercard being far more stacked and without the top men of the sport any such organisation would never hold any true legitimacy!

In an ideal world the best way forward would be for the 4 major bodies IBF, WBA, WBO and WBC all to merge as one business and have each champion fight one another until each division has one true champion, but with boxing politics the way it is that would be highly unlikely to happen, in the near future anyway. So the only other way for now is to leave it in the hands of the boxers and their promoters to try and unify a division, BUT if one boxer did hold all 4 titles he would then have 4 mandatory challengers a year in theory and that too would be almost impossible to see happening. These organisations have made boxing confusing and are the main reason for some of the top fights not happening. Something needs to be done soon for the sake of boxing, I just don't know what!!

[generalbulldog]

"for those of you who hate the WBC and their corrupt business dealings, why don't you just boycott all WBC fights. it doesn't make any sense complaining about them if you continue to watch their fights. so my advice to you is this, boycott all regular HBO/SHOWTIME fights along with PPV events that have any WBC champions or contenders."

Hmmm I'm sure you defending them and standing up for them has nothing to do with them being from mexico...boycotting all those fights would hurt fighters more than the wbc. Sanctioning bodies are like cancerous parasites to boxing they'll do anything to make a buck.

Just like him defending Margarito for loading his gloves has nothing to do with Margarito being Mexican.