Donald Trump and Boxing

By Mauricio Sulaimán
President of the WBC – Son of José Sulaimán

What happened this Saturday in Pennsylvania, United States, shook the entire world in many ways. Donald Trump, former US President and current Presidential candidate, suffered an assassination attempt during a campaign event which he miraculously survived.

An attack of this ghastly nature is of great concern; This has not happened in our neighboring country since 1981, when the then President Ronald Reagan, was shot and seriously wounded. It is unthinkable that even in 2024 this could happen. It is deeply worrying to see how the society we live in is fractured, how social networks are sewing seeds of discord. The violent world in which we live in seems to have no limits.

Our moral, principles and values are constantly challenged and the level of indifference is worrysome. How is it possible that it crosses the minds of many that this was somehow a staged act resulting from a political strategy? It just can’t be! How can anyone entertain that belief ! A human being was shot at in front of thousands and multi million watched on live television. A person died from this cowardly attack and still people try to redirect the attention towards politics and people create memes to laugh about an incident which could have changed the history of our world as we know it.

The World Boxing Council sends its best wishes to Donald Trump, his family and friends and to all the people of a great nation, The United States of America.

Donald Trump is a valued member of the boxing community, in addition to being a great fan of our sport, he became a promoter in the 80s and 90s. His partnership with Don King was highly successful, and it was precisely what led him out of multiple financial problems that he suffered in those years.

Mike Tyson fought five times under Trump´s promotion at the Trump Plaza, just when he was the great world champion and considered the most feared fighter on the planet. Julio César Chávez also showed his exceptional greatness in Atlantic City, and many more champions managed to make this venue a prime destination of world boxing for a number of glorious years.

There and back then, Donald Trump was seen as very active in the press conferences, weigh-ins and in the ring, alongside Don King.

Boxing owes Donald Trump tremendous gratitude for one of the most important acts in the history of sport, in relation to justice, inclusion and categorical rejection of racial discrimination.

World champion Jack Johnson was the first black boxer to be crowned in the heavyweight division, at the beginning of the 20th century, when he won the title in Australia. Subsequently, the fight that would define his final destiny took place. His challenger, James Jeffries, was a former world champion, brought out of retirement to face Johnson, and nicknamed “The Great White Hope”. As it was a must that the heavyweight title returned to white supremacy. Legendary promoter Tex Rickard built a stadium to hold the fight there, and the great expectation was that white would beat black.

Quite the opposite happened. Jack Johnson gave Jeffries a systematic, comprehensive drubbing, which precipitated the fury of the audience, and led to race riots throughout the country, which claimed many lives of black people. Discrimination was brutal and prevalent back then, especially in the South of the United States, where it was deeply and malignantly rooted.

The champion infuriated many white people, because far from repressing himself and acting with restraint, he used his power and fame to proudly proclaim himself. He dressed flamboyantly, drove luxurious cars, flaunted his success and his women were all white.

In 1913 he was tried and sentenced to a year in prison; His crime was driving a car in the company of a white woman, precisely his wife, and crossing from one state to another. He had to flee the country, and upon his return, five years later, he was imprisoned and stripped of all his property. Johnson died destitute in 1946, and considered a criminal by American law.

Many attempts were made over the decades, under the leadership of Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and others, to right, correct, rectify and redress a grievous wrong, due to foul racism, with the absolute and unconditional support of the WBC. The objective was to achieve a Presidential pardon, and clear the name of the great champion. The petition passed through the Senate, and was on the desks of Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, but none of them granted a pardon.

A final supreme attempt occurred in 2018, when the WBC sent the request for a pardon, and on this occasion, Sylvester Stallone personally took up the case with passion and steadfast determination. It was on May 24, 2018 that Donald Trump granted a Presidential pardon to Jack Johnson, and he presented the certificate to Jack’s Great, Great Niece Linda Haywood ( RIP ) , at an historic event in the Oval Office of the White House.

We are close to the start of the most important sporting event in the world: the Olympic Games. Boxing is one of the original sports, and has been part of the modern Olympic program since 1904. Due to mismanagement by the International Federation in charge of Olympic boxing, it is at risk of being excluded from Los Angeles 2028.

AIBA, now called IBA, has already been expelled by the IOC, and boxing does not have representation before this body. The newly created group, World Boxing, is doing everything possible to obtain recognition from the IOC, and thus save our sport as far as the Olympic Games are concerned.

The only thing missing to achieve this recognition is reaching the affiliation of a minimum of 50 countries. Many, including Mexico, have not yet affiliatted with WB, which is inexplicable, because if it is not possible to have a federation within the IOC, unless it is formally constituted as per the IOC requirements . If boxing is excluded from the Olympic Games, then the national boxing federations will cease to exist.

Our country will take four boxers to Paris. Two men and two women. Our hope and our dream is alive of achieving medal glory, because whenever there is a Mexican in the ring they compete with their heart and soul.

DID YOU KNOW…?

Boxing was for many years the sport with the most medals for Mexico. In the last six Olympic Games, we have only won two, and now diving is the leader in the medal table.

TODAY’S ANECDOTE

My father, José Sulaimán, was crucial in achieving the partnership between Don King and Donald Trump. Don Jose always advised those who sought him out asking for advise. This was the case with many boxing promoters and on several occasions he told us about one particular episode. “Don was at the pinnacle of glory, Mike Tyson who was a gold mine, had television contracts like no one else and Las Vegas gave Don very lucrative guarantees to promote shows there.

One day he told me that someone named Donald Trump was offering him a partnership with very attractive conditions, but that he decided not to do it, because he was very comfortable in Las Vegas and things were going very well for him. I told him not to be rude, to take the offer from Atlantic City and thus, since there was competition, Las Vegas would then come back with greater proposal. So it happened, when Don King finally returned to Las Vegas,it was with the largest contract in history with Mike Tyson.

I appreciate your comments at contact@wbcboxing.com

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