WBC NEWS: Hook to the Body

By José Sulaimán

Who do you believe, your eyes or me ?

I feel to be a citizen of the world in boxing, but a mexican in other sports. I was overwhelmed with the victory of our National soccer team -17 years old – over Holland and also with the great victory of the National Mexican team over the USA to win the Gold Cup 2010 and qualify for the Confederations Cup, especially when the USA team had a few more victories than losses with Mexico during the last 10 years. But I was extremely happy when I saw the four teams exchanging shirts among the contending players with a friendly and mutually respect, just as everybody can see when both boxers after a tough fight go to the center of the ring to hug and express their mutual respect.

I sincerely hope that this sign of sportsmanship and mutual respect among the youth of the nations will be a needed change of mental attitude among human beings, as an example to all nations to leave concord and peace as a sign of their passing through life, as we are not but actors in a life where who play better gains success. I congratulate my dear friend and president of the Mexican Futbol Federation, Justino Compeán, for these victories so necessary for the Mexican people, ardent to demonstrate that the Mexico that some picture is not the Mexico that we live and love.

I started my boxing tour witnessing Mexico’s Julio César Chavev Jr. win a close victory over Sebastian Zbik of Germany, who had 200 fights in amateur boxing and had been undefeated in more than 30 professional fights, for winning the WBC Middleweight Championship of the World in a fight that was decided during the last two rounds on the cards of the judges. Julio César won with his power and his indomitable heart, but Zbik let the title go after a courageous effort and lost it with dignity and pride. Julio César Jr. Finally obtained the WBC green and gold belt that his father, the great Julio César, had won and fought for on a record 37 times !!

I also read the questioning of a few Mexican media about his fighting against such a tough rival without considering that he won the title from the champion, as well as a questioning about what they called “easy” victory of Canelo Alvarez over Ryan Rhodes from England – who is the champion of Europe, of the Commonwealth and of Britain! – when I saw the Canelo Alvarez that I had not seen before with speed, the right distance, right movements and combinations of rightly thrown and beautiful punches.

I sincerely give both of them a standing ovation, for those two young Mexican boys won for Mexico the world title of two great traditional divisions, where in the middleweights immortal champions have held the world title, like Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Carlos Monzon, Marvin Hagler, Rocky Graziano, Tony Zale, Carmen Basilio, Jack LaMotta, Marcel Cerdán and Sergio Martínez himself, who Julio Cesar Chavez will for sure devote his life to be able to be compared with them.

On the super welterweight title, there are also those who have written their names with golden letters in the history of boxing, their great boxing careers like Nino Benvenuti, Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Emile Griffith, Tommy Hearns, Oscar de la Hoya, Tito Trinidad, and Manny Pacquiao himself, who are a list of greats that Canelo Alvarez will have as a target for greatness.

Here it comes to my mind that boxing commentators have the most difficult job of all sports, and that is why I respect them so much and the same happens with writers. However, baseball, football, soccer, basketball and all others are not the same speed as commentating as boxing. In those sports, commentators have time for a perfect relation of actions, and talk about records and other matters. Television, that doesn’t have 3D, is really almost impossible to describe what is happening in a boxing match when there are flurries of punches, so the time comes when TV viewers do believe more what they hear than what they see.

A Groucho Marx story comes to mind when he was in a hotel with a woman. When his wife arrived and opened the door with exploding fury and said, “Groucho, you’re with another woman in bed?” and Groucho shouted back “What woman? Where? I am by myself, and who do you believe more, your eyes or me?”

Sports are struggling to get new heroes to come to the idolatry of the people to cover that of who are soon to go or gone already. There are many countries that are succeeding, with Mexico being one of them. About 30 Mexican major leaguers are doing very well, soccer in Mexico is doing much better than before obtaining already the Gold Cup, while in boxing there are already six WBC world champions in the flyweight, featherweigh, lightweight, super welterweight and the middleweight divisions.

I take the opportunity to express my personal pride for all those victories that have sold out arenas and broken television records of viewers as never before, in games, matches, bouts, in an exciting time of passion and peace, as not one single incident has happened, as if all athletes are trying to show the world “the other” Mexico, where we live and are happy, our Mexico with its hospitable and happy doors that are open to all our friends in the world.