Jose Sulaiman, one of the most powerful people in professional boxing — and also one of the most reviled — died on Thursday in Los Angeles after a lengthy illness. He was 82.
Sulaiman rose to power as the president of the World Boxing Council, one of the sport’s major sanctioning organizations, whose champions are immediately recognizable by their green and gold world title belts. Sulaiman was elected president of the WBC in 1975 and ruled with an iron grip.
Most figured he would remain president until his death before the organization made it official, voting him president for life at its annual convention in November in Bangkok. But Sulaiman was unable to attend the convention because he was hospitalized with heart problems and in intensive care since October at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where he died.
His death was confirmed by his son, Mauricio Sulaiman, who was his chief lieutenant with the WBC and is expected to take the reins of the organization, ESPN Boxing informs.
