Francisco Varcarcel
Encyclopedia
Francisco Valcarcel is a Puerto Rican
lawyer
who is also president of the World Boxing Organization
.
, he studied law at the University of Puerto Rico
School of Law http://www.law.upr.edu in Río Piedras, graduating with honors.
He began private practice in an office in San Juan. Valcarcel's first contact with boxing
came during the early 1980s, when he became Wilfredo Gómez
's lawyer and negotiated Gómez's contracts with promoter Don King. After helping Gómez by working for him, Valcarcel remained interested in boxing, although he was not very involved in the sport.
The WBO was created in 1988, quickly establishing its central offices in San Juan. Valcarcel became a member of the new world championship sanctioning body, and he rose in the organization's ranks. In 1996, Valcarcel became the WBO's president, following former world Light-Heavyweight champion José Torres
at the helms of the organization.
Under Valcarcel's rule, the organization has been able to sign deals with the World Boxing Association
, World Boxing Council
and International Boxing Federation
to hold unification bouts between WBO world champions and world champions from the other organizations. Valcarcel and WBC president José Sulaimán
had a long feud, and thus the WBC was the last organization to convene with the WBO to hold world title unification bouts.
In 2004, Valcarcel was accused by a young Dominican Republic
girl of committing statutory rape
with her. Nevertheless, Valcarcel was declared innocent by the Dominican courts, who suspected the girl had been coherced by a top World Boxing Organization representant who wanted to take Valcarcel's place as the Organization's president.
During a 2005 meeting between boxing's four major world sanctioning bodies, it was decided that United States areas which did not comply with medical requirements for world title bouts to take place would not be allowed to have championship bouts. Valcarcel declared that This os (only) our first step (towards protecting boxers health).
Valcarcel has three children and two granddaughters
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
who is also president of the World Boxing Organization
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...
.
Brief biography
Valcarcel grew in Guaynabo, Puerto RicoGuaynabo, Puerto Rico
Guaynabo is a municipality in the northern part of Puerto Rico, located in the northern coast of the island, north of Aguas Buenas; south of Cataño; east of Bayamón; and west of San Juan...
, he studied law at the University of Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
School of Law http://www.law.upr.edu in Río Piedras, graduating with honors.
He began private practice in an office in San Juan. Valcarcel's first contact with boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
came during the early 1980s, when he became Wilfredo Gómez
Wilfredo Gómez
Wilfredo Gómez , sometimes referred to as Bazooka Gómez, is a former boxer and three time world champion.-Biography:...
's lawyer and negotiated Gómez's contracts with promoter Don King. After helping Gómez by working for him, Valcarcel remained interested in boxing, although he was not very involved in the sport.
The WBO was created in 1988, quickly establishing its central offices in San Juan. Valcarcel became a member of the new world championship sanctioning body, and he rose in the organization's ranks. In 1996, Valcarcel became the WBO's president, following former world Light-Heavyweight champion José Torres
José Torres
José Torres , was a Puerto Rican professional boxer. As an amateur boxer, he won a silver medal in the junior middleweight at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. In 1965, he defeated Willie Pastrano to win the WBC and WBA light heavyweight championships...
at the helms of the organization.
Under Valcarcel's rule, the organization has been able to sign deals with the World Boxing Association
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
, World Boxing Council
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
and International Boxing Federation
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
to hold unification bouts between WBO world champions and world champions from the other organizations. Valcarcel and WBC president José Sulaimán
José Sulaimán
José Sulaimán Chagnón is a Mexican boxing official of Lebanese-descent. He is the president of the World Boxing Council....
had a long feud, and thus the WBC was the last organization to convene with the WBO to hold world title unification bouts.
In 2004, Valcarcel was accused by a young Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
girl of committing statutory rape
Statutory rape
The phrase statutory rape is a term used in some legal jurisdictions to describe sexual activities where one participant is below the age required to legally consent to the behavior...
with her. Nevertheless, Valcarcel was declared innocent by the Dominican courts, who suspected the girl had been coherced by a top World Boxing Organization representant who wanted to take Valcarcel's place as the Organization's president.
During a 2005 meeting between boxing's four major world sanctioning bodies, it was decided that United States areas which did not comply with medical requirements for world title bouts to take place would not be allowed to have championship bouts. Valcarcel declared that This os (only) our first step (towards protecting boxers health).
Valcarcel has three children and two granddaughters