Promoter furious after Pinoy fighter Cuello bypassed for title shot
Fiery Filipino promoter, manager, trainer and former boxer Aljoe Jaro is up in arms over a decision by the World Boxing Council board of governors to allow minimum weight champion Xiong Zhao Zhong, the first Chinese professional world boxing champion, to make a voluntary defense of his title reportedly against a Mexican challenger.
Jaro has threatened to sue the board of governors as well as WBC president Don Jose Sulaiman over the decision reached at the WBC Convention in Cancun last December to approve a request by Zhong’s promoter, Lu Dong, for the grant of a voluntary defense for the new champion because of the tremendous interest by the public in China, effectively overriding a written commitment that the Philippines' Denver Cuello would get a mandatory title shot in the first defense of the new champion.
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According to WBC secretary general Mauricio Sulaiman, the son and heir apparent to his father Don Jose Sulaiman, “there was a petition on the floor during the convention to grant a voluntary defense to the new champion as there is tremendous interest by the public in China and it was voted unanimously in favor.”
He said there were conditions attached to the approval which included "a step-aside fee for Cuello or a chance for Cuello to fight on the undercard of the Zhong defense with the winner to fight Cuello."
Sulaiman, in defending the WBC position which he described as a “very uncomfortable situation” said it would delay Cuello’s title shot by “only three months, maximum” even as he pointed out that the historic title fight last November 24 – a first in China – drew an unprecedented TV audience of some 125 million.
Obviously, the staging of the first world title fight in China was a major breakthrough, similar to other initiatives by Don Jose Sulaiman when he opened the Russian market and crowned the first Russian champion in Yuri Arvachakov which helped make that country a major force in boxing.
Sulaiman also opened the sport to female boxers worldwide which resulted in some female champions being featured on the main event in important fight cards especially in Mexico, and female boxers competing for the first time in last year's London Olympic Games.
Mauricio Sulaiman told us quite candidly that “the Chinese market has been very difficult to access and this is the first real opportunity to provide many opportunities to those in boxing to open China to the world." He also believes that by giving into the Chinese request “nobody is hurt and great opportunities for the future for many are opened.”
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The WBC president told Yahoo! Philippines that he was grateful to Aljoe Jaro for agreeing to step aside for the clash between Zhong and Javier Martinez Resendiz for the vacant title which Zhong won in Kunming, China last November 24.
Aljoe Jaro is reported to have received a step-aside fee of $25,000 for acceding to the request of Don Jose Sulaiman who was hell-bent on breaking into the lucrative Chinese market.
Although it sounds rather exaggerated, Yahoo! Philippines was informed by Games and Amusement Board chairman Monju Guanzo that there was a supposed offer of a $100,000 step aside fee which seems unrealistic considering it is more than twice as much as the usual fee for a light flyweight challenger.
International referee Bruce McTavish, who is a friend of promoter Lu Gang, revealed that the Chinese promoter was scheduled to meet with American promoter Gary Shaw in Bangkok, Thailand on January 8 to discuss a fight card featuring Zhong in Las Vegas and confirmed that there was an effort to put Cuello on the undercard.
But Aljoe Jaro told us “I don’t want a step aside fee no matter how big. We want the green and gold belt of the WBC.”
To the promoter Cuello has waited long enough – two years and counting – for a title shot and is not prepared to wait any longer.
Cuello won the vacant WBC silver title with a first-round knockout of Carlos Perez on October 15, 2011 and then scored a smashing second-round stoppage of fancied Mexican Ganigan Lopez in what the WBC branded as “a final title eliminator” on May 19, 2012 in Mexico.
Jaro disclosed he had received an email from Mauricio Sulaiman on August 2, 2012 which stated: "This serves as a confirmation that your fighter Denver Cuello is the WBC mandatory contender in the straw-weight division and will challenge for the WBC championship vs the winner resulting from the fight to be held in China."
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At the same time the WBC secretary general told Jaro the organization "deeply appreciates your collaboration in this important matter which will expand the Chinese market to the world with this historic event."
In a message to Don Jose Sulaiman on July 11, 2012, Aljoe Jaro stated very clearly, "Our only wish is to let Denver Cuello have a taste of how it feels to be a real world champion. The Kid has sacrificed a lot. He has fought many times in Mexico and has always been loyal to the WBC despite the opportunities in fighting for other belts. I share the same principle my dearest friend, I only want the green belt because it has the highest value among the sanctioning bodies."
In his effort to justify the voluntary defense of Zhong approved by the WBC board of governors, the WBC president said "there were no objections from the Filipinos in attendance when the request was made and approved" even as he claimed that Aljoe Jaro had already left Cancun to watch the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fourth fight in Las Vegas.
In another contentious issue, Aljoe Jaro flatly denied the claim of Don Jose, stating he had informed his son and executive secretary Mauricio that he wanted the mandatory title fight to go ahead.
Even the Chinese newspaper Shenzhen Standard reported in its November 26 issue that "Zhong’s first title defense will be against the reigning WBC Silver minimum weight champion Denver Cuello. The fight was arranged after Cuello’s team and the WBC agreed on the winner of the Zhong-Rezendiz match will be mandated to defend the title against Cuello."
While Don Jose and the WBC are looking at the bigger picture and the obvious financial possibilities both for the organization as well as fighters and promoters, it seems Aljoe Jaro wants a commitment to be kept no matter what the financial cost even to him and Denver Cuello.
Mediators are reportedly seeking to work out a compromise whereby Cuello gets an attractive step aside fee and the WBC guarantees that the next time around it won’t bow to China.
Don Jose Sulaiman has said: "It is very difficult to explain historical decisions like the one taken by the WBC board but we are all proud to have been the first world organization ever to have a first professional fight and champion from China."
He drove home the point that boxing for the WBC "is not only to sanction title bouts. It is mainly to take all necessary actions for the betterment of the sport."
Question is, could the violation of a written commitment for a mandatory title shot be considered a necessary action for the betterment of the sport?
Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.
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