José Sulaimán
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José Sulaimán Chagnón (May 30, 1931 – January 16, 2014) was a Mexican
boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
official. He was the president of the
World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...
.


Biography

Sulaimán's father was of LebaneseMuere Don José Sulaimán
/ref>José Sulaimán, presidente del CMB, murió a los 82 años de edad
/ref> descent and his mother of
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
n descent and he was born in
Ciudad Victoria Ciudad Victoria () is the seat of the Municipality of Victoria, and the capital of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located in the northeast of Mexico at the foot of the Sierra Madre Oriental. It borders the municipality of Güémez to ...
,
Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...
,
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. Sulaimán boxed as an amateur and had served as a trainer, promoter, referee, and judge. However, he was best known as an administrator for more than three decades. At the age of 16, he was on the boxing commission in
San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...
, Mexico. In 1968, he joined the World Boxing Council (WBC) and quickly moved through the ranks. On December 5, 1975, Sulaiman was unanimously elected president of the WBC and had served in that capacity until the time of his death. Under Sulaiman's leadership, the WBC had instituted many new rules and regulations regarding boxers' safety and welfare. Among the changes was the reduction of world championship bouts from 15 rounds to 12, the official weigh-in taking place 24 hours prior to each bout, the creation of intermediate
weight divisions Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports, especially combat sports (such as boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling). Alter ...
, the creation of the World Medical Congress, the introduction of the attached thumb glove and the funding of brain injury research programs at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
. During Sulaiman's tenure, the WBC sanctioned over 1,100 title bouts and 300 boxers won world titles. Truly a worldwide organization, Sulaiman had expanded the WBC's global reach to include 161 affiliated nations. Outside of boxing, Sulaiman, who spoke Spanish, English, Arabic, Italian, Portuguese and French, successfully operated a medical supply company in Mexico. He was inducted into the
International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...
on June 10, 2007. One of his children is the current (2022) president of the WBC,
Mauricio Sulaiman Mauricio may refer to: * Mauricio (given name) * Maurício José da Silveira Júnior (born 1988), Brazilian footballer known by the mononym Maurício * Maurício (footballer) (Maurício dos Santos Nascimento, born 1988), Brazilian footballer * 2164 ...
.


Controversies

Sulaiman was also a very controversial figure. Journalist Matthew Hurley wrote, "How he was ever voted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame is beyond me." Sulaiman had been accused of corruption numerous times. For example, many in the boxing community had accused the WBC of bending its rules to suit promoter
Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well a ...
. The journalist
Jack Newfield Jack Abraham Newfield (February 18, 1938 – December 21, 2004) was an American journalist, columnist, author, documentary filmmaker and activist. Newfield wrote for the ''Village Voice'', ''New York Daily News'', ''New York Post'', ''New Y ...
wrote that Sulaiman "became more King's junior partner than his independent regulator." Another journalist, Peter Heller, echoed that comment, writing, "Sulaiman... became little more than an errand boy for Don King." Heller quoted British promoter
Mickey Duff Mickey Duff (7 June 1929 – 22 March 2014), was a Polish-born British boxer, matchmaker, manager and promoter. Early life Duff was born Monek Prager to a Jewish family in Tarnów, Poland on 7 June 1929. His father, a rabbi, helped the family ...
as saying, "My complaint is that José Sulaimán is not happy his friend Don King is the biggest promoter in boxing. Sulaiman will only be happy when Don King is the ''only'' promoter in boxing." After
Pernell Whitaker Pernell Whitaker Sr. (January 2, 1964 – July 14, 2019) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2001, and subsequently worked as a boxing trainer. He was a four-weight world champion, having won titles at lightweight, ligh ...
lost a controversial decision to
Jose Luis Ramirez Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...
in 1988, Whitaker's trainer,
Lou Duva Louis Duva (May 28, 1922 – March 8, 2017) was a boxing trainer, manager and boxing promoter who handled nineteen world champions. The Duva family promoted boxing events in over twenty countries on six continents. Lou Duva was inducted into the ...
, called Sulaiman "a thief" and Whitaker's manager,
Shelly Finkel Sheldon "Shelly" Finkel (born June 27, 1944) is an American boxing and music manager and promoter. Finkel received the Boxing Writers Association of America ''Manager of the Year'' award in 1990 and 1993. He was inducted into the International ...
, said, "King and Sulaiman fixed the fight, no question about it".


Death

Sulaimán died at the age of 82 in Los Angeles on January 16, 2014. He is buried in the
Panteón Francés The Panteón Francés de la Piedad ("French Cemetery of the Mercy") is a cemetery in Mexico City in which several notable people are interred. It is located in the southern section of the city, adjacent to the medical center, the Centro Medico Me ...
of Mexico City. He was succeeded by his son
Mauricio Sulaimán Mauricio Sulaimán Saldivar (born 30 December 1969) is a Mexican businessman and sports administrator. Sulaiman is, since February 11, 2014, the president of the Mexico based World Boxing Council, which is, along with the United States based I ...
as president of the WBC.


References


External links


Q & A
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sulaiman, Jose 1931 births 2014 deaths Mexican businesspeople Mexican people of Lebanese descent Mexican people of Syrian descent Sportspeople from Tamaulipas People from Ciudad Victoria Boxing people Boxing in Mexico Deaths from diabetes Sportspeople of Lebanese descent