Sulaiman Responds To Canelo's Claims of Playing Favorites

By Miguel Rivera

The President of the World Boxing Council (WBC), Jose Sulaiman, said WBC/WBA junior middleweight champion Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (42-0-1, 30KOs) made "rude" comments recently, when the Mexican star took a shot at Sulaiman. Canelo said there are many doubters who don't believe he is capable of defeating Floyd Mayweather Jr. (44-0, 26KOs) - and Canelo said Sulaiman is one of those doubters.

"What matters is the fight. What he said, I take it as a joke. Saul is still young and he does not have the maturity of a man, so he said something rude without thinking. These are things related to his youth. I've never told anyone, in the 38 years that I've been President.....I have never taken a favorite in any WBC fight. All I said is that Alvarez would be stronger and more solid if he took one or two more fights [before facing Mayweather] but that does not mean that he will not win. I don't want to hinder the fight which is important. For Canelo, it is a very important fight, more so than it is for Mayweather. For Floyd, it is one more opponent, but for Alvarez it is the most important fight of his life," Sulaiman explained.