The President of the World Boxing Council (WBC), Mauricio Sulaimán, warned that "we are living through something that no one could have ever imagined."
The event activity of boxing is slowly coming back after several months of limbo due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Sulaiman expects promotional rivals to come together, after the pandemic is over, to help each other get ahead.
"There is a lot of information that is conflicting and it gives your mental state.. constant concern, crisis, almost madness," said Sulaiman to Milenio. "Boxers are going to be leaders to get ahead during the early stages [of sporting events coming back], because, unlike other sports such as football or baseball, here you have just one [athlete] against the other and a referee in the middle."
"Everything else is very controllable. But in business things will change. I believe that these fights to the death between promoters, television stations and sponsors are going to be different in the future. We are all learning a lesson in humility, in humanity, and I am sure that things will be different when the crisis is overcome."
The big names like Saúl “Canelo” Alvarez, Manny Pacquiao and Anthony Joshua are still “waiting for a date to reschedule their returns.”
But the smaller names, especially prospects, are suffering the financial strains of sitting on the bench.
“Boxing, in short, has been affected. For starters the gyms are closed. In this situation, the great champions with big purses suffer a little, because for them it is only a temporary postponement of their activity,” Sulaiman said.
However, Sulaiman also stated that "the boxers who are just starting out, those who depend on these fights to survive, are the ones who are truly suffering and with whom it is necessary to give much more attention during this process, because without [a foundation for these fighters] there will be no great champions in the future."
