The longest serving president of a global sports organisation is José Sulaimán (Mexico), who has served as president of the World Boxing Council since 5 December 1975.

Sulaiman joined the World Boxing Council in 1968 before being elected president seven years later. Some of the innovations overseen by Sulaiman include: reducing world championship bouts from 15 rounds to 12, the conducting of official weigh-ins 24 hours prior to each bout, the creation of intermediate weight divisions, creation of the World Medical Congress, and introduction of the attached thumb glove. More than 300 boxers have won world titles during Sulaiman’s reign and the WBC has grown to include more than 160 affiliated countries. Sulaiman was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2007.