According to sources, the World Boxing Council intends to create a new category just for transgender boxers in 2023. The sport will shortly launch a “global call” for trans athletes to step forward.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said that boxing needs to change for the sake of “safety and inclusion.” He stated that because of their proposal, trans fighters would not be permitted to compete against non-trans athletes.
Sulaiman stated, “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.”
“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.”
“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.”
The sport will only let trans fighters participate against one another if the athletes were born with the same sex under the “at birth” rule.
Sulaiman continued: “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.”
Swimming, weightlifting, cycling, and rugby union are just a few of the sports that have been impacted by the discussion about transgender athletes partaking in sports in recent years.
Given that boxing is a contact sport, the WBC was eager to address the problem and put out a suitable action plan to guarantee that all health and safety issues were taken into account.