Hall of Fame inductee Brian Mitchell honoured with WBC belt

Accomplished retired boxer Brian “The Road Warrior” Mitchell was on Tuesday presented with the sought-after green and gold World Boxing Council (WBC) belt.

The award was made by WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman during his Mexico-based sanctioning body’s 62nd annual convention in Germany.

A former SA champion, Mitchell attended the convention as a representative of Golden Gloves Promotions (GGP), the company that promoted him as a fighter.

Mitchell, 63, who enjoys a cordial relationship with GGP boss and promoter Rodney Berman, is that promoter’s fight publicist.

Mitchell did not get the opportunity to fight for the WBC belt during his career because of SA’s apartheid laws.

The WBC, represented in SA by medical doctor and former chairperson of the board of Boxing SA, Peter Ngatane, opposed apartheid.

Mauricio took over the reins from his father, Jose Sulaiman, who died in 2014. Mauricio decided to recognise Mitchell’s achievements in and out of the ring with the WBC belt, and he felt it was proper to do that at the company’s convention in Hamburg.

Mitchell won both the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior lightweight titles in his heyday.

He successfully defended the WBA title 12 times outside SA under trying circumstances. His accomplishments earned him recognition by the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York, where he was inducted in 2009.

Mitchell remains the only boxer from SA to be recognised with such a high honour.