WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman is headed to Las Vegas to preside over the big T-Mobile Arena bout between WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia and challenger Conor Benn. Here, we’ve spoken about Zuffa’s arrival in the sport, Benn-Garcia, Turki Alalshikh, why the title is not yet on the line between Noël Mikaelian and Jai Opetaia, where Fury and Joshua should take place and what he does to relieve stress.
Okay, Mauricio, it’s been a while since we’ve actually had a catch-up, so how has 2026 been for you and the WBC?
Well, it’s been a sensational year in many ways. The activity worldwide has been tremendous, great fights, great match-ups, historic events, a fight at the Pyramids, which was unbelievable, also to see the Tokyo Dome sell-out with Inoue and Nakatani.
So it’s been a great year overall, and I believe that boxing is in very good shape, with many great fights coming up in the second half of the year, and I feel very well about the status of the sport.
You mentioned there a couple of highlights, but what are the biggest challenges boxing is facing right now?
Well, the challenges are the constant battle between the promoters and the networks and the creation of that league that has created too much confusion regarding the changing of the law [the Ali Revival Act] in the United States, which has not happened. Everybody is talking in different directions, but boxing is global.
Boxing is a sport that depends on the value of the fighters, and every fighter comes from different backgrounds, from different countries. They all come from a platform that is already established, that begins with a small gymnasium, small trainers, small promoters, and they come up the ladder to become superstars. I’m hopeful that all these powerful entities will continue to work together, will continue to try to make things happen, and that boxing grows as a sport deserves to grow worldwide.
And this week is an example of them actually working together. Obviously, Zuffa have the show but Ryan is a Golden Boy fighter and they’re fighting for a WBC belt, having said that they weren’t necessarily going to follow the sanctioning bodies. So this week is an example of people working together, is that right?
That’s absolutely right. It’s a great example. I am very proud of both our champion Ryan Garcia and challenger Conor Benn. The way they both have spoken about the WBC green belt is humbling.
Ryan has displayed his belt with pride, and Conor has proudly given many interviews saying how much he has dreamt of conquering the green belt that his father won decades ago. So it is a special fight and the attention will be fully on Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena, with television networks working together, Paramount and DAZN, Golden Boy and Zuffa. So it’s a good moment for the sport.
Hopefully, that will carry on, with more agreements and more understanding that we all can work together.
And your cruiserweight title is on the line too, right, with Noël Mikaelian against Jai Opetaia.
Not at this moment.
The WBC ordered Noël Mikaelian, who is WBC cruiserweight champion, to fight David Benavidez. And Benavidez’s promoter Samson [Lewkowicz] reached an agreement with Mikaelian’s promoter Don King. They reached an agreement to fight in December and Mikaelian went ahead and committed himself to another fight other than the one that the WBC had ordered.
We have made a strong effort to mediate, to try to accommodate all parties to make this work, and we’re still hopeful that the promoters can work it out between themselves and make this a WBC fight.
Do you have a deadline for that?
Well, there’s never a deadline.
Our goodwill is on the table. I remember when Cotto fought Canelo, we were still in the arena an hour before the fight trying to solve it and resolve a problem. So it is not about deadlines or threats.
It is simply about rules, about the facts that are clear and our good disposition to try to make things work out. We accept agreements between promoters. We accept step-asides.
We accept people reaching agreements to grow something for the future. So we will see what happens this week.
Ryan Garcia is a big favourite to beat Conor Benn. Do you see it that way?
I don’t think it’s a landslide. I think Conor Benn is coming off an unbelievable win against Eubank and, being such a brave and strong fighter, has all the chances in the world in the fight.
I think people are expecting an exciting fight, though, with obviously Ryan being so quick and Conor so aggressive.
Yes, the styles are what make big fights. Conor Benn is an aggressive fighter, has a good technique and Ryan has fast hands… and his power, his ring generalship.
It’s going to be a tremendous fight this Saturday night.
I know that the belt is on the line for that main event. Does it bother you that they’re not putting WBC on the posters and marketing materials? They’re just saying world title.
It doesn’t bother me. We know what the fight is all about. I hope it was a mistake by a human being doing the art or artificial intelligence doing the artwork.
But this is not exclusive. We have seen other fights in the past where they do not put the WBC belt, the WBC logo, the WBC letters... That is not proper and it takes a little bit away from the hype and the importance of the event, but it doesn’t bother me.
I don’t think it was done with bad intentions.
They didn’t include it with the IBF middleweight title in Ireland when Aaron McKenna won the title last month and they called it a world middleweight title fight, but they didn’t credit the IBF either. So I don’t know.
Maybe it is human error. I’m not sure. Well, it’s minor things.
I am not into getting into arguments about this. I believe things will be working better in the future for everyone. And, of course, artwork is a beautiful piece that remains for eternity.
When we see posters from the era of Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Leonard, all those great fights, Lennox Lewis and Naseem Hamed, it’s always nice to see what that event was for. So it’s one small piece of a big puzzle that should be resolved.
Obviously, both fighters have had positive tests before for PEDs. Has there been testing for this through the Clean Boxing Program?
Yes, yes. They’re both enrolled in VADA and tests have been performed. And also both fighters have submitted the safety weigh-ins, the 30, 14 and seven-day weigh-ins – they’re en route to making the weight this Friday.
There are critics out there who don’t think Conor should be ranked number one at welterweight given he’s not been down at that weight for so long. What would you say to those people?
Well, I respect anyone who has a critical belief. I respect it.
The WBC has been in very close communication with Conor Benn for several years. He was mistreated and abused through a missed or a positive anti-doping test, a banned substance. We did full research that took a lot of effort, a lot of resources from the WBC.
We had meetings with Conor personally and the ruling from the experts proved him not guilty. He was maybe banned… or he suffered the consequences for two years. But all this time we kept close to him and he always expressed his desire to fight for the WBC welterweight title.
He took and advised us of the fights he was doing against Eubank at a higher weight, these being two good opportunities for him to make the money that he made. But at all times he requested the WBC to keep him at welterweight and after his last fight he contacted me directly and pleaded to be named mandatory contender for the winner of Barrios-Garcia, which we did.
