DAZN News sat down with WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman ahead of the Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Luke Campbell bout to discuss that fight, the potential Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury rematch, and the significance of Canelo Alvarez's Franchise belt.
DAZN News: Vasiliy Lomachenko and Luke Campbell battle it out for the vacant WBC belt this Saturday. What are your thoughts on this fight?
Mauricio Sulaiman: It’s a very unique situation. The lightweight division title became vacant, Luke Campbell was the mandatory contender and we were searching for the opponent when Vasiliy Lomachenko, who is a champion of two other belts, said that he wanted to fight for the green and gold belt. The board of governors voted unanimously in favor, so we are going to have Lomachenko vs. Campbell.
DN: What does it mean to the WBC to have the man who many consider the pound-for-pound No. 1 boxer fighting for its green and gold belt?
MS: It means a lot. We are very proud of Lomachenko and of what he has accomplished and what he has expressed for so many years — he wants to be WBC champion. That means a lot. It will be an honor for the WBC if he is to become the champion, the same as if Luke Campbell becomes the champion. Luke has a tremendous story and has fought hard; it will be a sensational fight.
DN: The WBC set up the "Clean Boxing Program" to do what it can to keep the sport clean. Many fighters have admitted that they aren’t being tested as often as they should be. What is the WBC’s stance on that?
MS: It’s economics. Every test is a certain amount of money. You have to travel, you have to have a collector agent, there are materials involved, then the shipment of the test and then the lab cost, so it’s all about money. We invest a large amount of money from the WBC, but it just comes down to as much as we can do, and we would like to do more but it’s a poor world, 166 countries.
We are aggressively trying to do more. I praise UKAD and the BBBofC because they test fighters randomly. The more tests that are being done on fighters the better, but it’s about the money. If it was free, then we would test every fighter once a month, but it isn’t possible.
DN: Is the rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury guaranteed?
MS: Well both Wilder and Fury have to win the fights they currently have first. We were led to believe that there is a formal agreement for this rematch to happen early next year. The next mandatory is due in May 2020; there is an agreement for Wilder to fight Fury before that mandatory.
DN: With the WBC, WBA, WBO, IBO and IBF, there are many belts and many champions. Can you help clear up the belt situation?
MS: We can not stop anyone from creating a new belt. The fans can evaluate what each belt means and what organization means, what they stand for and the history behind them. Are they profit or non-profit, are they only a ranking and belt-giving organization or are they working diligently throughout the world and over the years to make a difference in the sport. That’s for the fans to evaluate.
The WBC has the world champion, we have the silver champion which is like a division two. Then we have the International, the Continental Americas, the European, those are regional championships to prepare the fighters to move up the ladder. For example, Manny Pacquiao started in flyweight as Oriental champion, then he won the International championship, then he won the world championship in flyweight, now today we see what Manny Pacquiao is. So, these belts or championship that are minor to the world champion is to prepare them. We also have a Diamond belt, which was created as a special trophy for special fights. During the World Boxing Super Series the WBC accepted to use the Diamond belt to be contested and be defended to enhance participation for the World Boxing Super Series.
DN: You recently gave Saul "Canelo" Alvarez the "Franchise" belt. Can you explain what exactly that is?
MS: First off, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to clarify this situation. We don’t have many outlets to give our truth for the fans to hear from us. The "Franchise" boxer is a designation, it is not a new championship, it is not a new belt, it is not a new title. It is a designation that has been given to Saul "Canelo" Alvarez only. It could be given again to very few fighters.
What is a franchise boxer? It’s a fighter who has a world recognition as a great champion. It’s a fighter that moves boxing in a positive way. It’s a fighter that has been related to the WBC for a long time or for a special situation. It’s a fighter that’s fighting in different weight categories, it’s a fighter that must fight the best fights. The elite, after Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
Saul Alvarez is fighting middleweight, super middleweight and even light heavyweight. We don’t know when he’s going to fight, but he deserves after 12 years of relationship with the WBC. He was youth champion, international champion, Latino champion, silver champion and world champion at super welterweight and then middleweight, so he’s a fighter that moves boxing. So instead of challenging him with mandatory defenses, the WBC created the "Franchise Boxer" to put him in a special status where he can fight the best fights for the fans.