Mauricio Sulaiman spoke to Hard Rock Bet following Ryan Garcia’s recent victory over Conor Benn and revealed he will agree to a unification fight against another welterweight champion to make sure the best face the best.
Ahead of the scheduled showdown between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, the WBC president claims it makes sense for the winner to fight Agit Kabayel next for the heavyweight title.
Sulaiman also spoke about the legacy of Katie Taylor and confirmed that the Irish icon has a ‘job for life’ with the WBC as an ambassador.
Ryan Garcia is at the peak of his career
What did you make of the performance of Ryan Garcia against Conor Benn?
Mauricio Sulaiman: Well, Ryan Garcia is at the peak of his career. He looked tremendously strong, fast, accurate, concentrated, motivated.
Conor Benn was a warrior that went out and tried it all out. He was blown away, both trying to win by immediate knockout. Conor Benn got caught by a right hand, he could not recover, and lost, but in a very dignified way, in my opinion.
Ryan is in his prime and at the top of his game. He is super focused, and his hand speed is incredible. He produced a fantastic performance against Mario Barrios in his previous fight and has continued. He is one of the biggest names and best fighters in the world. We are excited to see what is next for Ryan.
Do you believe this is the face of boxing?
Mauricio Sulaiman: Well, certainly he’s at the top of the list. We have so many superstars around the world. Canelo Alvarez, Inoue.
You have, of course, Fury and Joshua that are all going to be fighting. Usyk, who is a superstar. So many great fighters at the top: David Benavidez, Dmitry Bivol, Naoya Inoue and Canelo Alvarez. I mean, we’re going through a great moment in the history of boxing.
Would you let Ryan Garcia fight Devin Haney or Teofimo Lopez next?
Mauricio Sulaiman: Absolutely. We believe that the fans deserve the fights they want to see. And there are a couple of champions, like Devin Haney, like Teofimo Lopez. There are other good challengers ready, and I’m sure Ryan Garcia will be a very active fighter.
Conor Benn will receive a WBC ranking despite recent defeat
What’s next for Conor Benn, will he be ranked by the WBC once he decides his next weight?
Mauricio Sulaiman: Absolutely. We’re going to speak with him during these coming days to see where he feels more comfortable, 154 or 160, and he will certainly be ranked.
Interviewer: What was it like being at the fight alongside Dana White who has previously been critical of you and the WBC?
Mauricio Sulaiman: We had a great conversation. We have always been open. We want to support every single company, person, network that comes into boxing, to make our sport as great as possible.
So we have always been open since the initial announcement last year of the creation of this network. We are open and we are with open arms to work with anyone.
Fury v Joshua winner will get world title shot
How excited are you to see Tyson Fury v Anthony Joshua and the possible winner to challenge Agit Kabayel?
Mauricio Sulaiman: I love it. I love Tyson. He’s one of my favourite friends in life, not only inside the ring but also outside of it. We have gone through many things for many years and we are always in contact. He has been an incredible ambassador to the WBC and is a hero to everyone for what he has gone through and how he has come back.
Tyson has been one of the most loyal, outspoken representatives of the Green and Gold, and I wish him the best always, and he’s welcome to fight for the WBC title anytime. I would love to see him fight for the WBC again, and I wish him the best.
Anthony Joshua is also a tremendous example of a good, exemplary boxer in the ring. So, it’s a tremendous fight between the number one and the number two contenders in the WBC. I think it’s natural. It’s a natural fight where the winner could become the contender for Agit Kabayel.
When can we see Agit Kabayel make the first defence of his world title?
Mauricio Sulaiman: Well, we’ve been waiting, we’ve been giving him the opportunity to find the best fight possible that he can land, and we will wait, and we will see whenever they communicate back to the WBC of what their plans are.
It all depends on the promoters [for the winner of Fury v Joshua to face Kabayel]. We’re going to speak with the managers and the promoters. The WBC’s open and we want to make the best fights possible for fight fans.
But it’s a natural fight, and the fans want this fight between Tyson and Anthony. They’ve been waiting for it for 10 years.
Katie Taylor has a job for life at the WBC
Katie Taylor finished her career in style at Croke Park, how impressed were you with her?
Mauricio Sulaiman: She is unbelievable. From a little girl who had to disguise herself as a boy in order to box, to go to the gym, pretending she was a boy, to selling out Croke Park with 83,000 people. What a story. This is the greatness of a woman power, and she’s a great and absolute pride of the WBC.
All of the fights she has had and there have been so many iconic fights. The Amanda Serrano trilogy, coming back from defeat to become champion again and the inspiration she has given to millions of girls and women who want to now get into boxing is just incredible.
She’s going to be a WBC Ambassador for Life. Boxers, sometimes when they’re retired, don’t know what to do next so it is important we keep as many in boxing once they have retired because sometimes it can be hard for fighters but with Katie, she is with the WBC for life. She always has a home with the WBC and will always have a role.
It is always about the boxer, before, during and after their careers inside the ring and we look forward to many years of collaboration with Katie Taylor and all the fighters around the world.
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