Anti-Gay Adoption Laws Barred This Elite SA Boxer From Olympics
Image: Fred Zziwa. Photos: via team_fred_zziwa on Instagram.
Fred Zziwa is a lightweight boxing prodigy from South Australia – and he’d be wearing the green and gold at the Paris Olympics, if it wasn’t for an antiquated anti-gay law.
Zziwa has become one of the most formidable and respected young boxers in the country.
The 26-year-old had hoped to take his deadly skills in the ring to the 2024 Paris Olympics – but legal red tape has barred him from his dream.
Zziaw is originally from Uganda, and was raised in Victor Harbor by his adoptive mother Melinda Mayne, who is a lesbian.
But previous to 2017, South Australia’s legislation said that same-sex couples were prohibited from adopting.
So while growing up in Victor Harbor and being raised by his two adoptive mothers, Zziwa had to get a series of temporary visas instead of being able to go through the formal adoption process.
While the law has now been amended, this years-long delay in Zziwa’s adoption process means that at 26, he is still in the process of being able to gain citizenship. And sadly, not yet being a citizen means that Fred cannot qualify for the Olympics.
His mother Melinda told Newscorp, “That is the tragedy for him and for Australia, he’s been robbed of going to the Olympics.”
“Had the same-sex adoption laws been amended even a year earlier, I would have adopted Fred and he would have had his citizenship and he would have been going to Paris.”
Fred’s journey from Uganda to South Australia
Melinda met Fred in Uganda when he was 12 years old, when Melinda was volunteering.
“Fred lived in a home with dirt floors, no windows or doors, he was severely malnourished, he would have a cup of tea for breakfast,” said Melinda.
After she became close with the family, Fred asked Melinda to take him back to Australia – which his family supported.
But with Melinda being unable to formally adopt him, Zziwa had to go back and forth between Uganda and Australia throughout the years, in order to successfully gain various types of visas.
“I am just so proud of what he’s been able to achieve despite the challenges; the nutritional challenges he had as a child, the educational battles, and the mental hurdles he had to overcome when we were fighting for visas.”
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Zziwa has sights set on becoming world champion
Zziwa is now 26 years old and has gone professional as a boxer. While he was amateur, he won several bouts against active Australian champion boxers across multiple weight classes – an uncommon feat in the world of boxing.
The accomplished young boxer says that while this legal red tape has been a low blow for Zziwa, he’s rolling with the punches and won’t let it stop him – and he has his sights set on the very top.
“I have a dream to be world champion, and I won’t stop until I am there,” he said.
“And one day, there will be a statue of me in Victor Harbor. I have already spoken to the council about this, you will see that statue of me.”
Zziwa, who has since turned professional, has wins in the amateurs against several active Australian champions in multiple weight divisions – something which is very rarely seen in the sport.
In fact, Zziwa’s former coach in SA, Mark Nethercott, says the young boxer has difficulties finding someone who’ll take up the challenge of stepping into the ring with him.
Nethercott told Daily Mail, “He clearly has more power than anyone in the division in the country. That’s why everyone is avoiding him”.
Zziwa is currently based in NSW and is being trained by top boxing coach Joel Keegan.
