By Miguel Rivera
The president of the World Boxing Council (WBC), Mauricio Sulaiman, has officially confirmed that his organization will sanction the "Mayan belt" for the upcoming May 4 unification match between Canelo Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs at T-Mobile Las Vegas Arena
The WBC, since 2017, has been issuing special belts for contests taking place on Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day weekend - under the name 'Adolfo López Mateos' - and for Canelo-Jacobs they will deliver a belt detailed in jade, gold and silver, representative of Mayan crafts and culture located south of the Mexican Republic.
"It's the spectacular Mayan belt, we're going to announce it on Friday during the press conference (with Canelo and Jacobs in Mexico City). We are working on a design. When the Huichol came out it was very difficult to meet the expectations, then the Chiapaneco came out, we fulfilled them, and now I am sure that the Mayan Belt for May 4 and 16 will cover and, and perhaps, exceed the expectations that are held for Adolfo López Mateos. (It will have) jade, gold, silver, very important elements of the Mayan culture," said Sulaiman to ESPN Deportes.
This Wednesday in New York kicks off the promotional tour of Canelo and Jacobs, who will collide for the IBF, WBA, WBC titles on May 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Canelo will stake the middleweight titles of the WBC and the World Boxing Association (WBA), while Jacobs will expose the International Boxing Federation belt.
New York will be the first of three stops on the tour, with Friday taking place in Mexico City, and then on Monday they will finish the tour in California, with a public presentation before the Los Angeles fans before the two champions heads to their respective camps.
In the past, Canelo was the winner of the 'Adolfo López Mateos' belts of the WBC - first the Huichol of Cinco de Mayo by defeating Julio César Chávez Jr. in 2017, and then the Chiapaneco on September 16 of last year when he defeated Gennady Golovkin.
