By Gabriel F. Cordero
Happy Birthday to World Boxing Council President Jose Sulaiman! The leader of the WBC turns 81 today. He became the president of the sanctioning organization in 1975 and is responsible for numerous reforms in boxing including reducing the length of world title fights from 15 to 12 rounds, gaving weigh-ins 24 hours before the fight, open scoring after the fourth and eighth rounds, the use of instant replay video among others. He says there are still things he wants to accomplish in boxing, such as a retirement fund and the World Cup of Boxing event. Sulaiman was inducted into the International Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York on June 10, 2006.
