To hear Don Jose Sulaiman, 78 year old President For Life of the World Boxing Council, tell it, the newly created sparkling bauble dubbed the organization’s “Diamond Belt” will add glitz and glamor to the already hot Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto Nov. 14 bout.And not that money has ever been any consideration to these brilliant fighters or to their promoter Robert Arum but the price is right for the belt which Sulaiman said cost about $40,000 to manufacture.
Give me an F.
Give me an R.
Give men an E.
Oh, hell, give me another E.
Thus, a nimble navigator such as the soon to be age 78 Top Rank Top Honcho could have Pacman fight the Puerto Rican for the WBC’s new belt and keep $300,000 in his own pocket rather than fork it over to Paco Valcarcel and the WBO where Cotto is the welterweight champion.
Sulaiman, for his part, prefers to emphasize the uniqueness of the jewel encrusted bauble which he said he and his son Mauricio thought up.
“This is for very special fights between very special, elite fighters only,” Sulaiman told me Wednesday by telephone from his Mexico City home. “Winning this belt, especially the very first one, would like Germany capturing the World Cup or the Dallas Cowboys winning the Super Bowl.
“I should also inform you that when an elite fighter wins the Diamond Belt, he cannot lose it. It is his to keep forever. So this also makes it very special. My son and I looked at a big fight like Joe Calzaghe-Bernard Hopkins, two elite fighters, and it was a financial failure. The public saw there was nothing at stake other than victory, there was no title belt on the line.
“We like to be evolutionary at the WBC and this special belt brings special attention to the fighter who wins it. I spoke with Arum about this, he very much likes the idea but took no position at all. He did like the idea.”
Sulaiman labeled Manny and Miguel as historic fighters completely embraced by their respective countries.
“I think both are supreme heroes in their lands,” Sulaiman said. “Manny is easily the most famous athlete ever from the Philippines. Cotto is a supreme hero and beloved in Puerto Rico.”
So what happens if the WBO belt held now by Cotto is also up for grabs?
“No problem for us,” Sulaiman said. “If the WBO is involved, fine. If not, then it is also fine.’
Clearly, Sulaiman would dearly love to have Pacquiao accepting a formal presentation of the Diamond Belt at the 2009 WBC Convention in South Korea. Little problem there, though, as the WBC confab is slated for Nov. 1-8.
They say diamonds are forever.
I’m starting to think the what belts, if any, will Cotto and Pacman fight for saga is also forever.
Please do not confuse the Diamond Belt with the garish, tacky Trainer's Trophy won by Coach Freddie Roach over Floyd Mayweather Sr.
As I reported exclusively on a who cares basis, that prestigious gonfalon was found in the dumpster behind Nacho's Bowling Alley and Auto Reupholstery Shop on the busy commerical section of Hollister Avenue in sunny Goleta.
Promoter Golden Boy spent $37.32 to have the trophy reglazed and I hear that Coach Roach said it now makes a fine doorstopper at the Wild Card Gym.
Naturally, the Goldens made Top Rank share the big expense.
source: examiner.com
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