World Boxing Council - Latest Editon of Hook to the Liver
 By Special to Doghouse Boxing (March 19, 2013)
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The following is one of the weekly “Hook to the Liver” columns that are published in El Universal every Sunday. Translated from Spanish.
HOOK TO THE LIVER
By José Sulaimán
Habemus Papam !!! Pope Francisco. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina, where he was born. Son of an Italian father. He took the name in honour of San Francisco de Assisi, from the XIII century, who devoted his life to the help of the sick and very poor people. Perhaps it is his announcement of how his life as a Pope will be. Pope Francisco is the first Latin American Pope in 1,300 years. Latin America has 500 million Catholics of the 1,200 million of Catholics in the world, of which almost 100 million are Mexicans.
Several unimaginable things have happened: The lightning strike that fell on the antenna of the vatican after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI after 600 years of never happening. The white gull that flew over the chimney of the vatican and stood on it moments before the white smoke announcing the election of the POPE. The lottery in Argentina falling on #235, when the associate's number of the Cardinal Bergoglio at the football club San Lorenzo de Almagro is 88235 … and to bring today’s modern science to the picture, the twitter record was broken when 130 million of people tweeted after the election of the Pope.
It may very well be a message from God about a new world of peace and harmony, where jealousy, hate, bitterness, rancor, envy, arrogance and the abuse of criminal minds flow into oblivion. That the red color of blood now on the streets of many cities in the world, when brothers are killing brothers, become the white of peace.
Cardinal Bergoglio used the Metro in Argentina to visit the very poor, as well as those in jail and others in hospitals. Now as a Pope, refusing to use the special limousine and going in the bus with all other cardinals … just as San Francisco de Assisi used to do 800 years ago.
I pledge to inherit the heart of Pope Francisco, to be able to do my very best to continue struggling with the unity of my beloved members of the WBC, to keep looking for ways of protection for the boxers and the safety of the sport. It is because boxers are born in the very poor beds of the world. Because they do not have enough to eat and get education until the time comes when they feel that they have the fists and the heart to become boxers and champion. They start to make money, fame, and many friends who tell them how great they are. They lose their minds, spend their money thinking hat they will have it back in the next fight, until there are no more fights. The end arrives without having anyone to help them until the time that they live without a piece of bread, only thinking with tears of their glorious nights in boxing.
There was one boxer in Mexico who bought the Popo volcano. One other who had an apartment and insisted paying the bank, even when the debt, because of the interest, was three times its value. One other who had a checkbook who thought he was wealthy, even without funds in his bank account. Many others who lost everything because of a beautiful woman, others lost in the vice of alcohol. There has been no change in the 300 years of documented boxing. History repeats once and thousands of time. They are born very poor, gain fame and money, that is always spent to go back to extreme poverty.
Even Joe Louis, Willie Pep, Beau Jack, Sansaek Muangsurin, Alphonse Halimi, Wilfred Benitez, Pambele Cervantes, Kid Gavilan, Mantequilla Nápoles, Ultiminio Ramos and almost all boxers, with very few exceptions, end exactly where they started: in poverty. That is why the WBC is so grateful to Carlos Slim, who has 27 ex-champions of the world on a lifetime pension plan. Also Jean Claude Bivier of the luxurious Hublot watches, from whom $1 million dollars were obtained to open a charity fund that the WBC will implement soon.
This is the main reason why the WBC World Cup of Professional Boxing will be started the first week of July, looking for some income that will go directly to those who were boxers in their youth and now they live without a piece of bread. They must live with modest dignity, and boxing is committed to help them. Promoters will also be respectfully asked to add $1 dollar to each person attending WBC fights, with the money going directly into the fund. I am sure that promoters think the same way that we all do and will have the compassion to do it.
Thank you for reading my thoughts.
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