Boxing lessons

The fawning and treacly accolades continue for the deceased monarch.

One of the more interesting tributes is from the boxing world with parallels between boxing and monarchy.

The dead king has been credited with a remarkable array of skills and exploits. One might imagine – and that is what people do – that anything and everything in Thailand owes most to the king. The boxing establishment in Thailand, dominated for decades by military men, has decided thta it should join the fawning displays, with the linked article declaring that “not many people are aware of the enormous contributions that … the King made to develop boxing and Muay Thai out of the public view.”

Mauricio Sulaiman, president of the World Boxing Council, is quoted: “Boxing has lost one of the most influential persons who has ever supported the sport: King Bhumibol Adulyadej passed away last week in Bangkok…”. He claims that the king “played an important role in promoting professional boxing in the country and also in introducing Muay Thai … to the world.”

The WBC had awarded the king its “Golden Shining Symbol of World Leadership Award” in 2001. We did a quick search and can’t find this award listed anywhere other than in stories about the king, so it may be another of the awards created just for him, at the urging of royal acolytes of the time.

The WBC president at the time was Mauricio Sulaiman’s “late father Jose Sulaiman,” proving that like monarchies, the WBC has hereditary positions. Sulaiman Senior was “Lifetime President” of the WBC and was a skillful propagandist for his group and himself. His Board of Governors looked like a Privy Council and the WBC is a bit like a family business, not unlike the Crown Property Bureau.

As Wikipedia notes, Sulaiman Senior was a controversial figure. One critical journalist stated that the WBC head “became more King’s junior partner…”. He means Don King. And, it states, Sulaiman was accused of corruption numerous times.

The WBC’s headquarters are in Mexico. While only formed in 1963, like monarchies, the WBC creates a “history” that links it to figures from an ancient world.

Khaosai Galaxy is quoted in the story as also saying good things about the king. It might be noted that he did all of his work with the World Boxing Association.

The world of boxing is riven with splits, coups and failures to acknowledge the results of internal elections. That’s why it has four international and competing federations.