WBC AND ROCCHIGIANI REACH SETTLEMENT

26/08/2004

WBC AND ROCCHIGIANI REACH SETTLEMENT

On behalf of the WBC Board of Governors, World Boxing Council President Jose Sulaiman has announced that he and Graciano Rocchigiani signed a final settlement of their case on August 20, and on August 24, the Chapter 7 bankruptcy filed by the WBC in Puerto Rico was officially terminated.

President Sulaiman said, "We got up from the canvas just few seconds before we were knocked out, after enduring maybe the most trying and dramatic moments of an organization managed by people and institutions that receive no income from boxing. Instead of founding another organization, we decided to make an enormous effort so the popular and prestigious green and gold belt will continue to be the most cherished award any boxer can receive.

"Even though we always maintained our innocence, we want to leave this unpleasant experience behind and confirm the respect that the WBC has always observed for the courts of law in every country of the world. We will learn from our mistakes and strive to improve world boxing for the sake of the future generations, and the poor and destitute of the world who come from the humblest origins and find in boxing a friendly hand that helps them to become heroes in their nations and in the world."

"The WBC has certified a total of 1,444 title fights, among them Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston; Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier; Sugar Ray Leonard vs Tommy Hearns; Lennox Lewis vs Vitaly Klitschko; Tito Trinidad vs Oscar de la Hoya; Nigel Benn vs Gerald McClelland; Daniel Zaragoza vs Joichiro Tatsuyoshi; Erik Morales vs Marco Antonio Barrera; Julio César Chávez vs Meldrick Taylor; Julio César Chávez vs Greg Haugen - that filled Azteca Stadium with 132,274 fans on February 24, 1993; Julio César Chávez vs Meldrick Taylor - during the inauguration of the MGM; and the extraordinary fight between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Durán in Montreal, Canada. The majority of these are considered among the very best of the 20th Century.

"The WBC has had 355 world champions, including Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Larry Holmes, Lennox Lewis, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Durán, Marvin Hagler, Julio César Chávez, Tommy Hearns, Azumah Nelson, Erik Morales, and many more idols who are regarded as among the greatest in boxing history.

"The achievements, rules and actions of the WBC have offered the world a more humanized sport, and include a permanent program for medical research for the treatment of brain injuries at UCLA, a substantial amount of money given to indigent boxers during the last 25 years, our unwavering fight for 20 years against apartheid in South Africa, and countless medical measures and rules that have been implemented in professional boxing that will remain in the pages of history, and turn the WBC into a true legend.

"I would like to express my profound gratitude to all boxing people, world champions, promoters, and the media, that stood by the WBC and supported our continuing in the world boxing arena.

"This valuable support is the most important I could have ever expected, when other people wished for the WBC's demise. The WBC has emerged triumphant because its officers and members never lost faith."

The World Boxing Council was founded in Mexico City in 1963, and its presidents have been Onslow Fane of England, Luis Spota of Mexico, Justiniano Montano of the Philippines, and Professor Ramon G. Velasquez of Mexico, all deceased. President Jose Sulaiman of Mexico has been reelected on seven occasions during 27 years.