Transgender boxing: WBC's proposals for transgender category draw mixed response
- Published
Transgender boxer Baker on how sport changed his life
The World Boxing Council, one of boxing's major sanctioning organisations, has proposed transgender boxers should have their own division rather than fight in the existing male or female categories.
The WBC is the first of boxing's major bodies to join other sports in considering introducing laws regarding transgender participation, announcing proposals for a specific category for transgender fighters.
The proposals, which were announced in December, external and remain largely hypothetical, have drawn a mixed response from transgender boxers.
Critics have called the move "dehumanising" towards transgender athletes and say it encourages permanent segregation, as well as being unnecessary given the WBC does not have a single transgender boxer that it sanctions.
The WBC oversees fights at an elite level - former heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder had 25 pro fights before he fought for his first WBC title.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman says "safety is our priority" when introducing transgender categories and that it has been done to allow "any athlete who wishes to box to take part in the sport they love".
The WBC told BBC Sport the decision was also made without input from transgender athletes or organisations, and the body is yet to commission any dedicated medical studies into transgender athletes competing in boxing.
Those in favour argue it will allow transgender athletes to show their abilities as sportspeople.
"The WBC is opening the door to us rather than closing and locking it," transgender British boxer Danny Baker said.
But another transgender boxer, American trailblazer Patricio Manuel, does not share the same view, saying: "It was heartbreaking to have the WBC, a leader in my sport, argue that I don't have a place in the ring as a man."
'It's not making us less masculine'
Among the boxers who could be affected by the proposals is Baker, one of the few transgender athletes fighting at amateur level in the UK.
"I'm a man, if I'm fighting a trans man, they're a man, it's not making us less masculine," he told BBC Sport.
The 35-year-old says boxing has saved his life, having been in and out of prison before taking up the sport three years ago.
He says he struggled to find acceptance and purpose while growing up in Essex, and feels the WBC's proposals are a positive step that can help young people believe they can find acceptance in boxing.
"To me it means a lot, to the community it means even more," Baker said.
"It gives officials and other people in boxing the chance to see what we can do, that we do have the ability and drive.
"The WBC opening a category gives us something to work towards at world level."
Sulaiman says the WBC has proposed the new category after seeing other governing bodies introduce new laws surrounding transgender participants.
Sporting bodies have come under pressure in recent times to allow transgender athletes to compete in the gender category with which they identify, as well as considering how that would affect fairness.
Danny Baker fights on the amateur scene
Swimming world governing body Fina voted in June last year to restrict the participation of transgender athletes in elite women's competitions alongside proposals for an "open" category.
There have also been new laws proposed or introduced in rugby union and rugby league, cycling and athletics.
Sulaiman said they had looked to balance inclusion with safety, which had led them to "completely ban" what he termed "born man v born women".
"Then we decided to move with inclusion, any athlete who wishes to box will be able to take part in the sport they love, and we have put in place different actions for this," he said.
The proposals have not gone down universally well.
In December 2018, Manuel became the first transgender boxer in the US to have a professional fight, beating Hugo Aguilar via unanimous decision following a four-round bout.
The 37-year-old, who was a five-time national amateur champion when fighting as a woman and competed for the US in the 2012 Olympic trials, said that at a time of rising discrimination against transgender people in the United States, a new category would cause further issues.
"I am grateful to have received nothing but support and camaraderie from these boxers and their coaches, who have seen and respected me as the man I am," he said.
"Yet, in reality, the WBC is inherently dehumanising transgender people by implying that trans men aren't men and trans women aren't women.
"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."
A transgender category - but where are the fighters?
The increased awareness of transgender people in boxing has meant a steep learning curve for those involved in the sport for many years.
Steve Kipps has been a professional boxing coach since 1999 and has coached Baker in Enfield for 10 months.
He backs the WBC and, while he feels transgender male boxers could fight their counterparts in the male category, he thinks the proposals have the potential to benefit transgender athletes.
"I didn't realise Danny was trans at first. I wouldn't have any problems with him fighting a man," the 61-year-old said.
Kipps says he has seen a significant rise in the number of transgender men and boys boxing at his gym, including one who travelled from Wolverhampton before finding a welcoming training environment closer to home.
Baker says he regularly gets messages on social media from young transgender people keen to take up the sport - something he could not do when growing up.
This is also one element where Manuel and Baker agree.
Manuel has not fought professionally for more than four years, but says he regularly faces male professionals in sparring, and this shows how "boxing values what's in your heart, not what's in your pants".
For the WBC, having announced intention to create this category, it now needs to find boxers who can compete at an elite level.
Sulaiman says it is working to understand how many boxers could take part and has promised it will be in contact with experts on transgender participation in sport in order to shape the category.
It remains to be seen whether the category will be a league, a championship or just one fight on an undercard, but Sulaiman insisted the WBC would approach it with "passion and diligence".
Patricio Manuel was the first transgender boxer to make his pro debut in 2018
He is confident in the proposals however, telling BBC Sport that designs for promotional artwork, including a logo, along with social media and other marketing materials are already underway.
The 'safety' issue
The WBC previously introduced measures in women's boxing that have become sporting standard, such as two-minute rounds instead of three, and 10 rounds instead of 12.
Sulaiman said the WBC's studies into female fighters had helped inform its plans for a transgender category, however it did not consult with medical experts in transgender sports, or with transgender athletes themselves prior to making the decision.
"Women are different to men in several ways - muscular, bone structure, hormonally," he said. "So it was decided never to allow a woman to fight a man."
Pressed further on the specific basis for making a decision around transgender athletes, Sulaiman said: "The WBC is dealing with boxing matters and feels comfortable using data and opinions of our medical committee and their knowledge from studies.
"We have followed transgender activity on many other sports."
BBC Sport also contacted the WBC to ask who was on the medical committee, with no response at time of publication.
Other policies of sports governing agencies, such as the International Olympic Committee and USA Boxing, sanction transgender men to fight with non-transgender men and transgender women to fight with non-transgender women, based on research by medical experts such as the American Medical Association.
Baker however firmly backs the WBC approach, saying: "Walking into a pro category is dangerous.
"I think Mauricio has done us a favour. I believe from this category we will be OK to go over to the pro side, that may happen, it's trial and error."
Manuel said the decision went against boxing's long-established societal role of giving those without opportunities a chance in sport.
He feels a greater focus on developing amateur boxers, rather than creating a elite category which could sit empty for some time, would be more valuable to everyone.
"This is an opportunity for the WBC and its leaders to better embody its own values against bullying and discrimination," he said.
What does the future look like?
Baker trains with Steve Kips in Enfield
One area of the proposal that will need greater definition is whether a transgender boxer could cross over from the transgender-specific category in the future.
Baker is hopeful this will be the case, saying: "I fight cis [Cisgender] men now. I'm happy to fight trans men, I don't think that will be forever."
However Sulaiman moved to quash suggestions the category could be a stepping stone.
"It would be speculative to say someone can be competitive, it would be irresponsible," he said.
"We are talking about blows... I don't see how a born woman can be competitive against a born man without losing safety."
While safety for athletes is a common word used in concern by Sulaiman and others in sports governance, specific medical studies are lacking.
Baker believes many transgender athletes come to sport late and so do not have the same years of training as their prospective rivals.
He credits boxing with saving his life - describing the process of coming to terms with one's gender identity as like an "explosion" mentally - and hopes more transgender people can see the sport as a safe place.
"I think more people will come out, or think, 'there is a chance for me to start boxing'. Transitioning slows you down, especially when you're younger, your brain explodes," he said.
"I was in prison 13 times before I was 25. If I was introduced to boxing then, I would not have gone to prison.
"The team around me treat me as a person. They have taught me the art of boxing, there has been a lot of love, it has kept up my mental health.
"As a younger person I was lost, and boxing saved me."
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- Published14 January
