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Communicating with Alan Santana,
WBF North America Coordinator,
and Sergio Sotelo, WBF Latin
America Coordinator, regarding
the immediate past, present and
future of the World Boxing
Federation is like asking a
parent to highlight one thing
about their newborn child. The
enthusiasm that these two exuded
was contagious and it is easy to
see why the WBF is fast becoming
a major player in the world
boxing arena.
What fights were the highlights
of the WBF this past year?
Alan:
Dan, I think that one of the
biggest highlights for the WBF
this past 2011 was a fight card
that was staged in South Africa
where we had a total of six,
count them, six WBF championship
fights. Botha took on Michael
Grant for our world heavyweight
championship on that card, Grant
won in the 12th round
via KO with seconds to go in the
fight. I would also have to say
that travelling to Campbell,
Ohio, where Miguel Gonzales
fought and won our International
light welter title was very
exciting. Such a great kid, he
has good looks and can really
fight.
ergio:
For me, being able to “open the
doors” in a very tight market
that previously was only
available to the four main
sanctioning bodies. This was
possible because of the high
ethics, professionalism and
honesty that my team has shown.
The WBF has been the main event
in four out of the last six
shows that we have been a part
of and these shows have been
broadcasted by Televisa, the
largest Latin American network.
In each of those shows we have
sanctioned world title fights
and we have been given the
privilege to be the main event
over the four still bigger
organizations on four different
occasions. This year we already
have a very serious contender
for “Fight of the Year”, between
two great warriors, Juan Jose
Montes and Oscar Ibarra. We are
just starting to warm up.
Who are the outstanding
champions of the WBF?
Alan:
We currently have Ali Funeka,
Malcolm Klassen, Patrick Hyland
and Juan “Goofy” Montes. I feel
that these guys can fight
against any of the champions
from the other governing bodies
and give them one hell of a
battle!
Sergio:
Another good example is female
world flyweight champion, Irma
“La Guerita” Sanchez, who is
also ranked # 4 on boxrec. Irma
has defended her title twice
since winning the championship
in May 2011. Irma is a warrior
that is going to be very hard to
beat. Also I would like to
mention light flyweight world
champion Felipe Salguero. Felipe
is a world class fighter and
moving up fast in the boxrec
evaluations. Felipe is a young
fighter who gave us the “Fight
of the Year”, according to the
Tijuana Boxing Commission, when
he won the WBF world title by
split decision back in December
2010.
Means you believe the WBF
champions are competitive with
those of the other
organizations?
Alan:
Yes, I feel that our champions
could compete with the best in
the world, they are the same
calibre or higher.
Sergio:
Of course! In fact, the Mexican
champions Irma Sanchez and
“Goofy” Montes, in particular,
could beat anyone of the other
organizations’ champions. There
is no doubt in my mind. That’s
the reason we are working so
hard in Mexico to only bring the
best fighters we can to fight
for our titles, and we are
making it happen. What good
would it do just to focus on
charging sanctioning fees and
having clubfighters fight for
our titles? The answer is none.
We would be gone in a very short
time.
What are your goals with the WBF
for this year?
Alan:
Some of our goals for the WBF
are to stay as busy as possible
staging championship bouts all
over the world. By the look of
things we are off to a great
start. We are taking on the
other sanctioning bodies and
gaining the respect of many top
USA promoters. It takes a lot of
hard work building relationships
and trust. Trust is very
important in this business,
trust between the promoters and
the fighters will take us a long
way. Sergio and I have worked
very hard to do just that and it
is starting to pay off for us
here in the US and in Mexico. We
have sanctioned title fights in
Atlanta, Youngstown, Guadalajara
and recently in Dover, Delaware.
Sergio:
In my jurisdiction, our goal is
to have at least one world title
match per month and to work with
only the best promoters who have
the best boxers available. So
far, this is being accomplished.
We are currently working with
Hector Garcia from HG Boxing,
who is the second biggest
promoter in Latin America and
very soon we will be associated
with other promoters such as
Antonio Lozada from Baja Boxing,
Edrulfo Castillo from Eco
Productions, Jesus Zapari from
Zapari Promotions and the
legendary Tijuana promoter
extraordinaire, Guillermo Mayen
from Promociones Mayen. So we
are very excited at what lies
ahead of us in Mexico, as well
as for the WBF.
What fights are scheduled and
what fights are desired for
2012?
Alan:
We have Botha taking on Grant in
a rematch and Steve Forbes will
be fighting soon for a WBF
title. We are also staging a
womans strawweight world title
in April featuring Ana Arrazola
vs. Columbia’s Mayerli Altamar.
There are also plans for fights
in Ireland that will feature
some of the best Irish fighters
in the world. Look for many more
WBF title fights in the near
future, 2012 will be quite busy.
Sergio:
On March 31 we have Giovanni
“Ruso” Caro fighting in Cabo,
Mexico for the vacant WBF super
bantamweight world title, his
opponent is not yet set. Caro is
another quality fighter like
Montes, Sanchez and Salguero,
who will give 100% to obtain a
WBF title. Also in April we will
most likely have a doubleheader
with Irma Sanchez defending her
title for the third time,
followed by Alejandro Barrera
going for the world welterweight
championship. Alejandro is
trained by world renowned, and
member of the International Hall
of Fame, “Nacho” Beristain.
Nacho, with Barrera, will start
endorsing his fighters to fight
for our titles. It is a great
honor and a privilege to have
such a renowned personality view
us as a legitimate organization.
Finally, Sergio and Alan, who is
your favourite WBF personality?
Sergio:
Our WBF promoter Mr. Hector
Garcia, who has been through
hell and back battling with the
networks and some sanctioning
bodies who were and are very
reluctant in having us sanction
fights in Mexico. He believes in
our mission and has supported
our efforts in Mexico in a big
way. So my hat goes off to Mr.
Garcia and his entire team.
Alan:
I would have to say our
president, Howard Goldberg. He
is quite the man, carrying a
fulltime schedule with the WBF,
he is a great guy. He has a lot
on his plate, travelling around
the world and making sure that
everything about the WBF is
always top notch. |
