WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman spoke animatedly about Mike Tyson to an outlet called Stats Perform when he said something curious.
Sulaiman said he would place Tyson in his heavyweight rankings if that’s what Iron Mike wants. Tyson, 53 but feeling good, has announced that he plans to take part in exhibitions to benefit charity but many wonder whether he’ll return to competitive boxing.
Ranking? At 53 years old? After 15 years out of the ring?
“I’m not going to kill the dream,” Sulaiman said. “I’m going to be very supportive of Mike Tyson. He deserves it. If the dream is to say, ‘I will be ranked,’ I am saying yes, we will rank him.”
Now we must be fair. Perhaps Sulaiman got carried away with his enthusiasm for a boxing legend. And he did qualify his statement.
Here is the comment in context:
“He could knock out anyone with one punch, at any time! So of course we will support him. I don’t like to speculate. This is a topic we are all entertained by. An exhibition is one thing; if he comes back, he has to be licensed and has to go through a thorough process.
“I’m not going to kill the dream. I’m going to be very supportive of Mike Tyson, he deserves it. If the dream is to say ‘I will be ranked,’ I am saying yes, we will rank him. Every world champion has a provision that he can come back, like Sugar Ray [Leonard], who was inactive.
“But Tyson’s case is different, he’s been away many years. But I am in full support of Mike Tyson. I believe this will bring entertainment, and he’s doing it for charity. He wants to serve the world in this difficult moment.”
Sulaiman went on: “We need to first understand what it is. I think it’s an exhibition. The safety has to be top priority. It is great to see athletes promoting the sport. Mike Tyson had a very complicated life in boxing.
“Now to see him losing weight, active, healthy, is great, and we have to support him. But we have to see if it is a real fight. I am hearing that it’s an exhibition, and we are fully behind him.”
And, finally: “Don’t watch it, if you don’t like it. I love to see NFL players do reunions, I love to see legends doing something. Why not allow them to do something for charity?
“The only thing we have to be careful about is their safety. Why would we block it otherwise? We offer him our full support.”
So Sulaiman did underscore the importance of safety. He acknowledged Tyson’s time away from boxing. And, of course, if a 53-year-old can demonstrate that he’s perfectly healthy and can compete with younger fighters, it’s difficult to keep him out of the ring.
Evander Holyfield, who also has mentioned a comeback and could face Tyson, fought competitively until 48. And Larry Holmes was still active in his early 50s.
Still, Sulaiman might’ve been wise to take this a step at a time rather than prove his loyalty to Tyson by gushing about him. If Tyson takes part in exhibitions only, then there is no reason to talk about ranking.
And if Tyson decides to take his comeback to the next level, Sulaiman had better be careful how he responds. To rank a fighter because of his name, not necessarily his ability, is a horrible look. And, God forbid, Tyson or another geezer gets seriously hurt in the ring in a huge event.
This is serious stuff. One should be careful about what one says.