By Gareth A Davies
London: Boxing is planning a pioneering category for transgender fighters, in an attempt to avoid the controversy which has torn apart many other sports.
The radical plan has been revealed by Mauricio Sulaiman, the president of the World Boxing Council, who believes his sport needs to look closely at the issue of “safety and inclusion”. His proposal is that:
- The WBC will next year issue a “global call” for trans athletes to come forward if they want to compete, with the aim of setting up a separate league or tournament;
- Trans athletes will not be able to compete against non-trans fighters;
- The sport would look to adopt the “at birth” rule, meaning a trans fighter born a man would only be able to compete against a fellow trans fighter born a man.
World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman.Credit:AP
Sport has been embroiled in a series of controversies over trans athletes, sparked by the likes of Lia Thomas in swimming and New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard competing in the Tokyo Olympics.
And boxing has decided it has to take a stand, with Sulaiman believing it needs to be proactive to ensure it never has a situation where a man can fight a woman.
“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,” he said.
‘A man fighting a woman must never be accepted, regardless of gender change’
Mauricio Sulaiman
“It is the time to do this, and we are doing this because of safety and inclusion. We have been the leaders in rules for women’s boxing – so the dangers of a man fighting a woman will never happen because of what we are going to put in place.
“A man fighting a woman must never be accepted, regardless of gender change. There should be no grey area, 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.”
He added: “We are creating a set of rules and structures so that transgender boxing can take place, as they fully deserve to if they want to box. We do not yet know the numbers that there are out there, but we’re opening a universal registration in 2023, so that we can understand the boxers that are out there – and we’ll start from there.”
The British Boxing Board of Control has confirmed it is examining its transgender policy but is also committed to adopting the “at birth” policy.
“At the moment, this is hypothetical but we can see it coming and we are looking at our transgender policy,” said Robert Smith, the BBBC general secretary. “It is what you are born as, as rugby union does. When it does [happen] we intend to be fully prepared. Medical and, perhaps more importantly, legal considerations will have to be taken into account.”
Boxing has had cases of transgender fighters enjoying success in recent years.
Patricio Manuel was a five-time women’s US amateur champion before failing to qualify for the American team for the 2012 Olympic Games. Manuel began hormone treatment in 2014 before undergoing gender reassignment surgery the following year, and made his professional debut as a male boxer in 2018, defeating Hugo Aguilar on points in Indio, California. The 37-year-old has not boxed since.
Adamant on the “at birth” policy, Sulaiman said: “That is absolutely correct, we will not allow – ever – a transgender born a man to fight a woman, who was born a woman.”
The London Telegraph
