WBC boxing president Mauricio Sulaimán spoke to Hard Rock Bet and discussed the biggest headlines in boxing.
Sulaimán revealed plans to continue the WBC Grand Prix, discussed the heavyweight division, including a possible return for Tyson Fury, and Mayweather-Pacquiao 2 rumors.
With Jake Paul preparing to face Gervonta Davis, the WBC boss also analyzed the upcoming showdown.
WBC Grand Prix’s future
The WBC Grand Prix has been well received ahead of the final set of fights in December; can we expect this to continue in 2026?
Mauricio Sulaimán: “Oh, it’s amazing. We got to the semi-final stage, which was tremendous — great fights — and we are all set for December 20th in Riyadh for the grand finals of the featherweight, super lightweight, middleweight, and heavyweight divisions. It’s unbelievable.”
“It has proven to be a real World Cup of professional boxing. Great fighters, great talent, great matchups. The administration has been flawless.”
“There’s been so much work from the different teams that have been assembled — it’s tremendous. From the medical perspective, NAS Medical from England has done a superb job.”
“The administration of the Boxing Commission, working with the Middle East and the Saudi Arabian Boxing Commission, along with international boxing and MMA consultants, the total synergy of the ring officials — it has all been tremendous.”
“In terms of production, setup, and logistics, it’s been a great, great success overall. I have spoken with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh.”
“He has expressed his desire to continue with it in 2026 as well. We’re yet to sit down and go through the specifics — the dates, the weight categories, the number of fighters, etcetera — but I am hopeful it will continue.”
Who will face Usyk next?
Agit Kabayel is interim champion, will you make him mandatory to face Oleksandr Usyk next?
Mauricio Sulaimán: “Yeah, we have the WBC Convention coming up in December, and that’s where we will review every weight category and make the assessment and ruling on each category.”
“The WBC, specifically on heavyweight, has been very flexible and lenient in order to secure the greatest fights in the division. We were very proactive in supporting the unification that led to the undisputed championship.”
“So, we had Oleksandr Usyk defeating Tyson Fury, then the rematch. For some reason, Daniel Dubois had become the IBF champion, and Usyk was not undisputed, but now he is once again undisputed. The WBC has the interim champion in Kabayel, and I believe he’s going to be defending his title in January. But as I said, we’re going to review the heavyweight category as well as all of them during the convention.”
Will Tyson Fury return to boxing?
How great would it be for boxing if Tyson Fury returned?
Mauricio Sulaimán: “He’s a tremendous champion, a great person, a great family man. There’s speculation about whether he will return or not. I saw him a couple of days ago posting that he’s very happy being retired, enjoying life as a family man, etcetera. We will see.”
“If he decides to return, the WBC, of course, will welcome him. He has been a tremendous champion for the WBC and for boxing. However, if he decides to stay retired, that’s also a great decision. He has a lot of money, a beautiful family, and a happy life to live forever.”
Absolutely. If Tyson were to return, though, where do you think he would be in the rankings? I know you have a convention in December, but would he go back to number one?
Mauricio Sulaimán: “We do not speculate. If he decides to return, then we’ll address the situation.”
Rumours of Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao 2
There are rumours of Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao 2, what do you make of this?
Mauricio Sulaimán: “Well, Mayweather–Pacquiao was the greatest fight as a business in the history of the sport. They are two icons, two legends of boxing, two Hall of Famers. So, if they decide to do another fight, I think of course it is good for the sport.”
“They are on the same level in terms of age and ability. Manny Pacquiao just fought for the WBC title, so he was very clear and capable. I’m sure they would look at thousands of medical issues to ensure there would be no obstacles for them to get into the ring. If they decide to do it, I do believe it’s good for the sport.”
How proud were you to be part of Manny Pacquiao’s comeback fight earlier this year against Mario Barrios?
Mauricio Sulaimán: “Very proud. It was challenging times, but we were very sure, very certain. We took that decision not lightly. We did everything that we were supposed to do, and we were proven correct. Manny Pacquiao performed, and it was something we prayed for.”
“Manny had a great outing. It was a draw against the champion, so I’m very proud and very happy for Manny Pacquiao, for the WBC, and for Mario Barrios. He got good exposure, a good payday, and boxing won that night.”
Jake Paul is set to fight Tank Davis, is this good for boxing?
Mauricio Sulaimán: “Jake Paul has had a tremendous influence on the sport, and as a promoter, he has given opportunities to many fighters to make good money.”
“He’s supported women’s boxing, which is great. As a fighter, he has been hesitant whether he wants to fight in the normal structure of boxing — looking for a world championship challenge — or to fight in a different scenario, like against MMA fighters, basketball players, or celebrities.”
“Gervonta Davis is a tremendous fighter, with a huge following. So, I hope everything goes well. It’s difficult to comment because of the differences in weight categories.”
What does the WBC have up its sleeve when it comes to the latest technology for boxing?
Mauricio Sulaimán: “The Reality Series WBC Boxing Grand Prix has been like a laboratory — a few things that we’ve worked on for a long time with great success. We have a new scoring system. We also used five judges instead of three in the semi-finals.”
“We have a 30-second buzzer before the end of the round, encouraging the fighters to engage. Instant replay has been a great success. Open scoring after the second and fourth rounds has been tremendous for fighters — so they know where they stand on the official cards and what they have to do.”
“We also have a new lighting system implemented inside the ring posts. Whenever a corner wants to stop the fight, they hit a button and the lights go on, because many fighters, when the fight is about to be stopped, receive unnecessary punches between the time the corner signals and the referee notices.”
“So I would say all these experiments have been tremendously successful, and we are looking forward to implementing them in WBC activity.”
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