The only out gay pro boxer in the world is blasting his sport for not supporting LGBTQ+ fighters

When now-retired pro boxer Orlando Cruz publicly came out as gay 11 years ago, nothing happened. His trainer, manager and fellow fighters didn’t treat him differently, and he continued to flourish in the squared circle.

And yet, Cruz continues to stand alone. There still isn’t another out gay pro boxer in the world.

In a new interview, he says that’s because his sport offers no support.

“Young male boxers are killing themselves, as they are scared,” he told the publication Bad Left Hook. “They have nowhere to turn and depression hits them. Our sport is doing nothing to help them.”

Cruz’s coming out story isn’t all rosy. He came out to his parents when he was 19 years old, and though his mother was supportive, his father shunned him for a year.

“My father, he was disgusted. He acted like a typical father. He wasn’t talking to me for a year. No conversation, nothing,” he told the New Yorker in 2016.

Nowadays, Cruz describes his dad as his “best friend,” and a guiding force in his life. As the only out gay pro boxer in history, he’s well aware of his standing, and the power of his visibility.

“I want to try to be the best role model I can be for kids who might look into boxing as a sport and a professional career,” he said to the New Yorker. I have and will always be a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and always will be a proud gay man.”

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Like many LGBTQ+ athletes, Cruz’s career didn’t stop when he publicly came out. In fact, it flourished. He won seven of his first nine fights after his big announcement; and in 2016, competed to become the first out gay boxing world champion.

Overall, Cruz finished his career with an impressive record of 25-7-2. He says he doesn’t think his success would’ve been possible if he stayed closeted.

“I wanted to become world champion and felt that doing so would take all my focus and my energy. Coming out relaxed me,” he said. “I knew that I could just focus on training and nothing else.”

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But that doesn’t mean Cruz muted his gay identity. He never shied away from representing the gay community, most notably after the Pulse nightclub shooting in June 2016. Almost half of the victims were Puerto Rican, and Cruz, who now lives in Fort Lauderdale, lost four friends that night.

When Cruz returned to the ring that July, he honored the victims by wearing rainbow-striped briefs at the weigh-in. Prior to his match with Alejandro Valdez, the bell tolled 49 times, once for each victim.

Fittingly, Cruz won the contest, and became the WBO’s North American Boxing Organization’s lightweight champion. He dedicated his victory to the victims and their families.

You can watch Cruz honor the victims below:

“I want people to be more friendly, that people accept the community of LGBT,” he said. “The people change their attitude, and the people love. People are the same,” he said.

Those words—people are the same—is the message that Cruz preaches today. He says he’s currently consulting six gay male boxers around the world, serving as their sounding board and support system.

It’s a role he relishes.

“These guys are from all over—Spain, Colombia, USA, United Kingdom and Panama,” he said. “They are able to confide in me and receive the support from me that I was lucky enough to get from my family.”

While the LGBTQ+ representation in boxing is lacking, there are some out fighters flourishing in the world of MMA—especially on the women’s side of things. Liz Carmouche, Jessica Andrade, and Amanda Nunes are all decorated competitors (Nunes is a former UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion and two-time UFC Women’s Bantamweight).

Fallon Fox became the first out transgender fighter in MMA history way back in 2013.

Like in other sports, the men are behind. UFC bantamweight Jeff Molina publicly came out as bisexual earlier this year, though he was outed with a leaked sex video.

Cruz desperately wants the culture of machismo around boxing and MMA to change, and is doing all he can. Just being himself, and talking freely, is an important statement.

“Life is so short and tomorrow is never promised, so any day that is spent hiding from the world is a day wasted,” he said. “Sure, it’s scary, but together we can build a world, and a sport, where people are free to be who they really are.”

That sounds like a winning message to us.

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