By Mauricio SulaimánPresident of the WBC – Son of José Sulaimán
I was 16 years old, studying in high school at Winchendon School, near Boston, USA, when one day a package arrived in the mail; it was a walkman, the most modern of all gadgets back then, and it came with a card that said “Honda.”
That was my first encounter with the man who is now like my second father, Akihiko Honda, the greatest promoter in the history of all of Asia, and one of the most important in the entire history of boxing, at the level of Don King and Bob Arum. A quiet, respectful and even shy honorable man who is always behind the scenes, regardless of what event it is, a small show at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall or his induction into the International Boxing Hall of fame, it is never about him but about the attention and glory to others, has no ego whatsoever and still does not use a smart phone, rather a flipflop one.
No one has ever spoken negatively about him; He is respected and beloved by everyone in this complex industry, where blows and metaphorical brickbats are often inflicted outside of the ring for reasons of business and interests.
I first visited Japan in 1988. My brother Fernando and I traveled, in the company of my father, José Sulaimán, on our way to the annual WBC Convention, which was in Thailand. We stopped for a few days in this incredible country, which since then has become my favorite place in the world, because of the hospitality, customs, decency, respect, cleanliness, and modernity, coupled with the delicious food, which makes each visit a great experience.
It was during my trip to Japan that I learned the importance of many things, such as, always being on time, always being well dressed, never wear torn socks! It is so embarrassing to walk into a restaurant and as they often do ask the customer to take off the shoes; So many customs which the world can learn from Japan.
Mr. Honda was close to his father, Akira Honda, founder of the Teiken gym. Unfortunately. Mr Honda Sr died very young, and the gym was on the verge of disappearing; It was then and there that fate put his son to the fore and with the help of Miss Nagano, Teiken survived and gained a lot of strength, as Masao Oba was crowned champion, bringing fame and business to the gym.
Teiken has crowned many world champions in its 98 years of existence, including legendary superstars Tsuyoshi Hamada, Joichiro Tatsuyoshi, Nishioka, Takahiro Aoh, Shinsuke Yamanaka, Hozumi Hasegawa and the current WBC bantamweight king, Junto Nakatani, among many more.
Another of Mr. Honda’s great virtues has been signing a handful of foreign boxers, whom he has helped from the beginning of their careers, to become great world champions: Edwin Valero and Jorge Linares, from Venezuela; Román Chocolatito González, from Nicaragua; José Luis Bueno and Carlos Cuadras, from Mexico, Genaro Chicanito Hernández, and the current WBC super flyweight champion, the Mexican-American, Jesse Bam Rodríguez. All of them world champions who consider Mr. Honda as a father figure.
He has also been the intermediary between most Japanese promoters and those from the rest of the world, in which countless opportunities have been achieved for Japanese warriors to fight for world championships around the Globe.
One of his great activities has been to ensure that television maintain interest and programming. Japan broadcasts the vast majority of world championship fights live or recorded.
The Teiken gym continues to operate, ever more active than ever, and incredibly Miss Nagano continues to lead it, at 99 years old! Mr. Honda’s close team deserves wide recognition, as they are wonderful people who brilliantly complement his activity, and help international development; They are Akemi, Nobu and Nick, along with some few others which make the Teiken team a marvelous one; They have the virtue to make everyone feel special, feel like a champion and always return home with memories of a lifetime.
In the late ’80s, he promoted Mike Tyson’s two fights at the Tokyo Dome, and last May he filled it with 55,000 fans to see the sensation, Naoya Inoue, take on Luis Nery.
Mr Honda has promoted fights in Hawaii, Las Vegas, Mexico and other parts of the world and has remained one of the most influential persons in our sports, in other words, he is has been in the top ten pound per pound list for more than 50 years.
This weekend the ninth edition of Live Boxing, from Prime Video Japan, took place. In the main fight, the WBC bantamweight champion, Junto Nakatani, knocked out Filipino Vincent Astrolabio. In the semi-final fight, we were able to see a young man who looks every bit a future world champion. Tenshin Nasukawa, who was the monarch of the very popular kick boxing, but who decided to migrate to boxing with Teiken, and now has four wins; On this occasion, he knocked out Jonathan Rodríguez. This young man is expected to give us a lot to talk about. Prime Video Japan loves boxing and been involved in the most important events in recent years.
DID YOU KNOW…?
Japan is the third most important country in boxing in the world only behind the United States and Mexico, in number of world champions and championship fights.
Today’s anecdote
My dad was invited by the government of Mexico City to preside over the Boxing Commission at the end of the 80s and it was a special time in his life, because he took on that appointment with great responsibility, and every Saturday we were in the “Arena Coliseo” even the he was the WBC President.
I went with Don José almost always, but to the stands with my friends to drink beer and eat pistachios…
One day I was going to the bathroom, and suddenly, a super flyweight boxer jumped out of the hallway and told me: “Hey, Moro, I want you to be my representative; Whatever you say I will do, any conditions, the truth is I don’t even have enough to eat, and my son has just been born.”
I explained to him that was not possible, since we cannot have any financial interest with anything in boxing. When I told the story to my dad, he called Mr. Honda, and recommended that young man from Ciudad Neza, who hid when they came knocking on his door to collect the rent, because he and his wife had to shut their crying baby…
Akihiko Honda bought the contract of José Luis Bueno, eventually he traveled to Korea, and won by decision against the legendary WBC champion, Sung Kil Moon, and thus achieved his dream of winning the crown, even with his hand broken in the eighth round. Bueno had a great career, his last fight being against Érik Morales.
He now lives in his own house, has a gym, a grocery store and a dental office with his oldest kid, all college graduates. All of this thanks to Mr. Honda.
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