Trans Boxer Patricio Manuel Wins Third Pro Fight

Transgender male boxer Patricio Manuel has secured his third career win which places him as 103rd under the national super featherweight rankings. The boxer was awarded a technical win, by unanimous decision from the judges in the fourth round of his match against fighter Alexander Gutierrez. 

This marks Manuel’s second win of the year and the boxer now has a 3-0 record with the other two fights also occurring under the umbrella of Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. 

Manuel became the first out transgender man to box professionally in the United States in December 2018 and previously won five amateur national championships from 2006 to 2012 in the women’s amateur boxing category prior to his transition. 

A Separate League Proposed For Trans Athletes

According to a report by Gay Express, a New Zealand-based LGBTQI magazine, Manuel currently holds the 99th position in the US rankings and the 782nd position globally. Additionally, there is now a possibility for Manuel to secure a ranking within one of the prominent world boxing-sanctioning bodies. 

In December last year, the World Boxing Council (WBC) proposed that a separate league be established specifically for transgender athletes. 

WBC President Mauricio Sulaimán stated on January 3 that the WBC categorically opposes any boxing matches between individuals assigned male at birth competing against those assigned female at birth, regardless of their current gender identity.

As per the suggested guidelines, boxing matches would follow an “at birth” rule, which implies that transgender men would exclusively compete against other transgender individuals on the masculine spectrum, and vice versa for transgender women. In these tournaments and bouts, trans fighters would not be permitted to compete against cisgender individuals.

‘New Policy Dehumanises Trans Sportspersons’

Manuel responded to the announcement from the WBC, describing it as “heartbreaking” for him to have the WBC, a “leader in my sport, argue that I don’t have a place in the ring as a man”. 

The professional boxer released a statement in collaboration with Athlete Ally in January this year, stating “Given the WBC’s stated values of sportsmanship, diversity and respect (via their philanthropic arm WBC Cares), I trust this intended new policy was made with the best of intentions to be inclusive of transgender boxers. Yet, in reality, the WBC is inherently dehumanizing transgender people by implying that trans men aren’t men and trans women aren’t women.”

The Athlete Ally ambassador denounced the WBC’s attempt to separate trans men from cisgender men in the sport, adding that “this rhetoric flies in the face of both existing policies at the highest level of governing bodies in the world of sports and my own lived experience”. 

Director of Policy and Programs at Athlete Ally Anne Lieberman said the WBC’s decision to create a transgender-only category without consultation or involvement of the impacted athletes went against inclusive policies at the “highest level of sport”, referencing the 2021 International Olympic Committee Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations. 

‘Boxing Does Not Discriminate’

“While the WBC may have made this policy with inclusion in mind, we welcome the opportunity to work with them to truly create inclusive, fair and equitable policies for transgender athletes – and all athletes,” Lieberman said. 

As an amateur boxer in the women’s division, Manuel has had over 60 sanctioned fights and competed on Team USA during the 2012 Olympic trials. 

Manuel expressed his concern over rising discrimination against transgender people in the United States and his appreciation for the support he had received from fellow boxers and coaches who “have seen and respected me as the man I am”.

“This respect reminds me daily: boxing has always been about seeing the fighter in everyone. Boxing values what is in your heart; it doesn’t discriminate based on who you inherently are”, he said.