Following the recent news that women’s world champion Amanda Serrano has opted to relinquish her WBC title following a disagreement with the organization over sanctioning three-minute rounds for women, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman spoke to Sky Sports to defend their decision.
“There is not much to say. The WBC has changed the world of boxing in many ways to make our sport safer and will never compromise safety for popularity. This is not discrimination, this is not sexism, this is not about equality it is about safety and safety only. WBC has specific guidelines and rules for women in boxing, including not charging any sanction fees to any female boxer.”
Sulaiman would continue by saying his organization has made a strong commitment to fighter safety based upon their studies, and says two-minute rounds in women’s boxing has allowed for a faster pace, greater action, while also protecting the fighters. And should the WBC sanction three-minute rounds for women, he believes it will only create more danger due to fatigue and dehydration.
And because Sulaiman doesn’t want you to think he’s only singling out the women here, he mentions that the WBC is also considering piloting a new event for male boxers to fight in two-minute rounds, to see how that works out.