Boxing used to have the great white hope.
Now it has the great white pope, thanks to the recent support from Pope Francis. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman recently paid a visit to the head of the Catholic Church for a special blessing ahead of the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk title fight this weekend in Riyadh.
“Pope Francis has a foundation,” Sulaiman told Sky Sports. “I learned there was a program called Football with Values. I proposed to the Pope to do Boxing with Values. So he accepted, immediately embraced boxing. I brought the belt, he blessed the belt and he signed it.”
“[The Pope] signed one side [of the strap] and he said I must sign the other side otherwise this fighter is going to think I’m cheering for him and not the other,” Sulaiman continued. “[He] doesn’t have a favorite. He’s looking forward to May 18!”
Fury is the current WBC titleholder while Usyk carries the WBA, IBF, and WBO straps. Boxing has a different title for each of its governing bodies and this weekend’s “Ring of Fire” pay-per-view (PPV) in Riyadh (order it here) will (finally) unify them … barring a draw or some other wacky circumstance.
For the completed “Fury vs. Usyk” fight card and DAZN PPV lineup click here. For more boxing news and notes click here.