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By Mauricio Sulaimán – WBC President – Son of José Sulaimán
What an incredible day of boxing in Saudi Arabia during the semi-final stage of the Riyadh Season WBC Boxing Grand Prix. The matchups are now set for the featherweight, lightweight, middleweight, and heavyweight finals on December 20th. All eight fights were explosive and of the highest level, truly worthy of this first professional Boxing World Cup in history.
In the featherweight division, Uzbekistan’s Mujibillo Tursunov defeated Ukraine’s Danilo Lozan by unanimous decision, and the tournament sensation, Carlos Utria, scored a spectacular first-round knockout over South Africa’s Ntethelelo Nkos. Utria is already a national hero in Colombia and will surely be received as such upon his return, just as he has been after each of his three previous fights. When I congratulated him after his win, he hugged me and burst into tears like a child; this has been a constant throughout the Grand Prix. So many stories from the 128 pugilists who entered with the dream of winning the José Sulaimán Cup.
The third bout promised to be one of the most evenly matched of the day, but the dynamite also exploded in the first round, and Italy’s Muhamet Qamili surprised France’s Yoni Diego Sebastián Valverde with a hook, sending him to the canvas. After the mandatory count, he attacked like a hurricane, connecting powerfully and forcing the referee to intervene and stop the fight. The French fighter and his corner protested the stoppage. Canadian referee Joel Scobie acted decisively, intervening when he saw him hurt.
Qamili’s opponent emerged from a great performance by Mexico’s Brandon Mejía Mosqueda, who knocked out South Africa’s Bekizizwe Maitse in the fifth round. It was a great fight that required the greatness of body punching to stop the tall southpaw opponent. Mexico will be represented in the lightweight final. For his part, Maitse, who had earned only $150 in his pre-Grand Prix fight, managed to buy his mother a house and a gym to work in his community.
The middleweight fights were of the highest caliber. Australia’s Dylan Biggs defeated France’s Lancelot Proton de la Chapelle by unanimous decision, showcasing great class and power. The fight of the night featured Colombia’s Carlos Sinisterra Palacios and Canada’s Derek Pomerleau. It was a dramatic contest of the highest technical level with a constant exchange of blows.
Finally, the heavyweights demonstrated why it is the “King” division: Ahmed Krjnic of Bosnia defeated a tough South African, Keaton Gomes, by split decision. Gomes had won his three previous bouts by knockout.
The story of the tournament is undoubtedly that of Kevin Ramírez, a young street cleaner from Argentina and the smallest of all the heavyweights who entered the cup. Ramírez is actually a cruiserweight and faced the American Dante Stone, who outweighed him by 29 kilos (64 pounds). Ramírez burst into tears when he was named the winner by split decision, and he also hugged me to say that he can finally buy a house for his mother.
This, the final event for my dear father José Sulaimán’s dream is taking shape. He always said that nothing in life was impossible, only some things might take longer. His dream is now a reality, 12 years after his passing.
Two Mexican female warriors brought honor to our country in a fight for the WBC minimosca (light flyweight) world championship. The encounter took place on Padre Island, Texas, very close to Reynosa, where we were last week for the great card where “Alacrán” Berchelt returned. Yesica Nery Plata is the world champion who had to vacate her belt due to pregnancy. When that happened, we ordered a fight for the vacant title between Lourdes Juárez, “Barby”‘s sister, and former champion Yesenia Gómez. “Lulú” was crowned, and it was time to give Plata her opportunity. A great fight with constant exchanges that was decided in “Lulú’s” favor by split decision, to the excitement of all the public.
DID YOU KNOW…?
The Boxing World Cup, José Sulaimán’s dream, was ready to start in October 2013. The event was scheduled for October 6th in Mexico City, in the heavyweight category, including the African Carlos Takam and others who eventually became figures in world boxing. My dad had surgery on October 1st, and after contracting a bacterium in the hospital, he was destined to remain in intensive care. The cup’s promoter, my friend Mauro Gazcón, decided to postpone the event and wait for Don José to recover, which did not happen, and thus the idea was cancelled until last year, when Turki Alalshikh believed in the concept, and today it is a reality.
TODAY’S ANECDOTE
My dad always met with anyone who sought him out, whether it was Don King or a young, hopeful promoter. On one occasion, a young man from Tijuana called to ask for an appointment, which was scheduled for breakfast at Sanborns in Lindavista, his favorite place. A young guy in jeans, cowboy boots, and a leather jacket arrived, big and good-natured; he told my dad about his fighter, an unknown who was just starting to enter the rankings. “My son, one must always attend to matters with the same seriousness and attention. While something might seem insignificant to you, for the person presenting it, it could be the most important thing in their life. I ask you to always do that.” That meeting took place. That young man was Fernando Beltrán, and his fighter was Erik “El Terrible” Morales. The rest is history.
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