World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman will be a very interested part in some of the upcoming heavyweight fights in Saudi Arabia.
On March 8th, former two-time world champion Anthony Joshua will collide with MMA veteran Francis Ngannou.
“Anthony Joshua was first ranked by the WBC when he started as a professional and then he kept moving up and was ranked inside the top five and then number 2 ranked when he received the opportunity to fight for another title (the IBF),” Sulaiman said.
“He has had a sensational career and if he beats Francis Ngannou, then he is number one in the WBC while Francis Ngannou is number 10 so the winner will certainly be positioned for great things in the immediate future. We will see what happens as there are fights that need to happen before we elaborate on something else.”
And then on February 17, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will trade punches in the ring for the undisputed crown, with the IBF, IBO, WBA WBC, WBO titles at stake.
“It is a huge fight, much needed for the sport and will be massive on fight week and when the bell rings, I can only imagine the atmosphere in the arena. All eyes will be on this fight. It is a fight which took a long time, a long process but now it is a reality,” Sulaiman said.
“I’m very proud that the fight is happening because we are very sensible and visionary (about not installing a WBC mandatory for Tyson Fury previously). We like to not overreact and think things to make the proper steps and decisions. We are not in a popularity contest, and we are often criticized which is good as I understand and it makes you better but it will never influence a decision when we analyze all of the aspects of topics to be ruled on. I like professional criticism but if people are aggressive and personal then I don’t get involved.”