Mauricio Sulaiman Announces Plans for a WBC Transgender League
The sport of boxing is about to get a new category as the WBC is looking to open a transgender league in 2023. In August, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman suggested that the sport needs to consider having a stance on the matter. Now it appears the organization is ready to move forward with plans to usher in the idea next year.
During an interview with The Telegraph, Sulaiman spoke on the issue and laid out some proposed ground rules.
“We are going to put out a global call for those who are interested in 2023, and we will set up the protocols, start consultation and most likely create a league and a tournament.”
“In boxing, a man fighting a woman must never be accepted, regardless of gender change. There should be no grey area around this, and we want to go into it with transparency and the correct decisions. Woman-to-man or man-to-woman transgender change will never be allowed to fight a different gender by birth.”
HOW WILL THE BOXING COMMUNITY RESPOND TO THIS?
One fighter in particular that will be happy to hear this is Patricio Manuel (1-0), the first transgender boxer in US history to have a professional bout. Manuel has not been back in the ring since making his debut in 2018. One reason for this is because male fighters are unwilling to risk the embarrassment of losing to a transgender person.
There are fans in the boxing community who may not warm up to the idea of watching or paying to see transgender boxers compete. It will be interesting to see how fans react to this path the WBC is looking to adopt.
By: Bo Bland
