Pope Francis Gives Blessing and Signs WBC Title

Boxing used to have a concept of a great white hope, but now it seems to have a different touch with the involvement of Pope Francis. Mauricio Sulaiman, the president of the WBC, paid a visit to the leader of the Catholic Church to receive a special blessing ahead of the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk title fight scheduled for this weekend in Riyadh. Pope Francis has shown his support for boxing through the “Boxing with Values” initiative, where he blessed and even autographed the championship belt. While Fury holds the WBC title, Usyk owns the WBA, IBF, and WBO belts, turning this weekend’s “Ring of Fire” pay-per-view event in Riyadh into a unification spectacle. To purchase the pay-per-view event or for more updates on boxing, click here.