WBC Cares Surprises Jose Sulaiman With Award

Stephen Blea Presents “Prizefighter” to President!

Boxing’s Jose Sulaiman has spent decades involved in the sweet science.

One of the current WBC and NABF officials wanted to surprise the veteran with a special honor during December’s 50th Anniversary of the World Boxing Council’s (WBC) World Convention. This year’s annual gathering was held in Cancun where referees, judges, prizefighters, promoters and more all convened for this highly-anticipated gathering.

Denver, Colorado’s Stephen Blea came up with the idea to surprise WBC President Sulaiman with a “Prizefighter” bronze statue to honor his almost four decades with the nonprofit WBC Cares organization which helps children and teens worldwide. In these exclusive photos–FROM CALIFORNIA TO CANCUN–check out the tributes to Don Jose as the sculpture (by artist/boxing trainer Steve Harpst) made its way to its worthy recipient.

I caught up with Blea (a former Colorado State boxing champion) to hear his thoughts on the presentation. Stephen and Raylene Carbone are both dedicated volunteers with the WBC Cares charity and are committed to giving back to the community and beyond.

“Raylene and I are very proud to be a part of the WBC Cares and especially to be involved with Papa Don Jose,” Blea tells me. “We really appreciate Steve’s beautiful trophy. As I had said before ‘Papa’ Jose has always been a ‘fighter’ for the boxers and the children of the world!”

Indeed, the inscription of the museum-quality bronze reads: “Papa Don Jose for 37 years as a WBC Humanitarian from the Boxers & Children of the World and the WBC Cares Group.”

The journey of Sulaiman’s statue first began in Southern California. Blea entrusted his longtime compadre and fellow boxing official Zac Young with picking up the piece.

Artist Steve Harpst met with Young at a Thompson Boxing show before the Cancun travels began. The artist was truly honored to have his “Prizefighter” presented to Sulaiman. “This is a very nice tribute,” said Harpst. “And Stephen Blea did a great job organizing this wonderful surprise for the President.”

While Harpst met up with Young, after the fights several past WBC champions shared their congratulations in paying tribute to the WBC icon. Keeping the secret of the surprise presentation which was to take place later in Cancun, many beloved ex-WBC titlists gave a hearty shout out to Jose Sulaiman.

“Once a champ, always a champ,” goes the saying. So check out former WBC Silver Welterweight Champion Josesito Lopez, former WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Israel Vazquez, former WBC Super Featherweight and WBC Featherweight Champ Bobby “Schoolboy” Chacon, Thompson Boxing President Ken Thompson (co-promoter of Josesito Lopez with Goossen Tutor) and Thompson’s General Manager/Matchmaker Alex Camponovo offer their best congratulations and “¡FELICIDADES!” to Jose Sulaiman as Zac Young began transporting the precious cargo en route to Mexico.

Young, who honed his referee and judging skills in the amateurs, is also a dedicated member of WBC Cares, known for his many events he has organized in Costa Rica. He and Stephen Blea have known each other for years and both work tirelessly in the sport. Zac and the ex-champions had a great send off for the “Prizefighter,” with Young then flying to meet with Blea. From there, Stephen took the surprise gift to Mexico, where it was awarded to Jose Sulaiman during the historic convention.

Boxing is a close-knit fraternity and one Blea is proud to be a part of. Stephen recalls that he has known Zac for almost 30 years; many of his connections go way back.

“Since I have been involved with the WBC as referee/judge, I have been more than happy to give back to the boxing program as I have done with the amateurs for 27 years as a volunteer coach,” he adds. “My ‘payback’ is that boxing has been good to me all my life! With the opportunities that I get from the WBC and all the State Pro Boxing Programs I pay it forward back to the program. Mine and Raylene’s main award is not monetary but the smiles of the children and helping them in all areas of fulfillment in their lives which includes monies for school books etc. or helping them find scholarships to further their education.”

Blea and his fiancée Carbone are pro-education and practice what they preach. “Raylene and I can proudly say we have 10 college graduates in our family–our children,” Blea says. He has almost thirty years working as a volunteer coach with Denver Police Brotherhood Youth Team, the Golden Gloves, Team USA, the Silver Gloves (Regional Chairman), the Junior Olympics, the Special Olympics and many more. He has also helmed many fundraisers, enabling him to contribute to WBC Cares and other charitable endeavors. Stephen also received a 2011 WBC Humanitarian Award for his work with underprivileged and at-risk children.

“When we were little, we were poor growing up in Denver–the Westside!” Blea remembers. “But even though we were very poor, my parents Samuel Blea Jr. and Dolores still instilled in me to give back to others. They are great role models; they just celebrated 56 years of marriage on December 29. And they always taught me to give back to help others.”

And now Stephen and Raylene often assist and mentor at-risk youth. And boxing has always been a big part of the couple’s lives and they enjoy being involved with WBC, the international boxing organization which just celebrated their 50th convention: “50 years of making history.”

During the meetings, seminars, dinners and awards presentations in Quintana Roo, Mexico, Blea introduced the “Prizefighter” bronze to many boxers and fight aficionados in attendance including former WBC Female Light Middleweight Champ and WBC International Female Lightweight Champ Mia St. John.

The conventioneers had an epic time celebrating the WBC’s year of accomplishment and Stephen Blea and Raylene Carbone were happy to be able to surprise President Sulaiman with the boxing award.

The humble pair also want to acknowledge several people who also give back to the WBC Cares program.

“I do want to thank the following people for helping us be a part of our WBC Cares–Jill Diamond, Mr. and Mrs. Mauricio Sulaiman, Mr. and Mrs. David Walker, Sharon Anyos, Mia St. John, Monique Rendon and Benjamin Rendon, Rudy Tellez, Zac Young, Mariana Juarez, Alama Montiel, the Cleto Reyes family, Sue Fox, Arceli Martinez Rose, Pepe Gonzales, Mr. and Mrs. Rocky Marciano Jr., Mary Ann Owen and Butch Gottlieb and Steve Harpst for making this possible. VIVA WBC CARES!”

Congratulations to President Sulaiman and the WBC Cares group for a successful convention–and here’s to a KNOCKOUT New Year in boxing!

Photos courtesy of Stephen Blea and “Boxing” Bob Newman (from the WBC Convention) and Michele Chong