WBC President Mauricio Sulaimán Spewing More Nonsense
Since newly unified WBA super, WBO and IBF world lightweight champion Teofimo “El Brooklyn” Lopez (16-0, 12 KO’s) defeated Vasiliy “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KO’s), only controversy is undisputed. This is due to the bout being falsely billed as a prizefight to determine ‘undisputed’ status. In reality, there should be no conflict. Devin “The Dream” Haney (24-0, 15 KO’s) holds the actual WBC world lightweight title, period.
RELATED:Mauricio Sulaimán: “Franchise Status Gives Boxing Best Fights Possible”
Sadly, the WBC is doggedly persisting that Lopez, who owns their make-believe Franchise title, is the undisputed lightweight champion. Since the fight, Sulaimán has conducted a number of interviews where this absurd situation keeps being brought front and center. And just as it was a year ago, he is no more prepared or coherent when attempting to justify the lunacy of it all.
MORE WBC GIBBERISH
This was no more apparent than when he was sweating bullets in a recent interview conducted with Fight Hype. Throughout the inquiry, it was hard to tell if we were watching the WBC president speak or Pooty Tang. This is because he was using words, kind of, but zero them of it made any sense. The absolute worst moment was when asked point-blank ‘who was the higher ranking champion in the eyes of the WBC,’ he literally said he did not understand the question!
Sulaimán insists that he is comfortable with the outrage, but his frustration is blatantly obviously.
“I fully explained that the Franchise designation puts a fighter in the level of itself, that is Teofimo Lopez. Devin Haney is the WBC champion of the division, so I think that it’s very clear…I understand what I am trying to say that there is confusion, but I am feeling firm that this is for the greater [good of] activity in boxing overall.”
Nothing could be more confusing.
WBC PRESIDENT PUTS HIS HEAD IN THE SAND
At one point, Sulaimán says that all the fans should follow the WBC if they want clarity. This is when the interviewer says, but ‘now there’s two world champions from the WBC!’ To which an exasperated, and very much cornered, Sulaimán essentially said he was taking his ball home.
“Well if you want to go into that just do it all day long! I already made explanation, it’s very clear, it’s a new concept. If you want to go around in the same thing I respect that and you can go to your fans and continue that same situation. I am trying to be very clear and very transparent…I don’t know what to say because we just keep going in circles.”
It is funny how when attempting these hollow, mumbled-mouthed justifications, Sulaimán regularly says ‘it’s very clear’ AND ‘I know this is confusing.’ How can it be both? Just like how can we have two champions in the same division, under the same sanctioning body and still have one undisputed champion?
To borrow the words of Floyd Mayweather Jr, ‘we need to clean this shit up!’
By: Bakari Simpson
