Mauricio Sulaiman, the president of WBC (World Boxing Council) has recently revealed that a new division is going to be included in boxing. According to Sulaiman, this division will be limited to transgenders only.
The WBC is one of the four major boxing organizations in the world, which has 18 different weight divisions. The other sanctioning organizations are the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF), and World Boxing Organization (WBO).
Some of the boxing legends who held the WBC championship are heavyweight champions Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, etc. Popular WBC champions from other divisions are Evander Holyfield, Sugar Ray Leonard, etc.
Generally, people question if it is safe for women to compete against transgender (who were born male). In many cases, it has been seen that transgenders, who were born male but identify as a different gender, have an edge over women (who were born female).
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Speaking with the Telegraph, Sulaiman said: “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. He plans for the WBC to use the ‘at birth’ rule, which would ensure that a transgender boxer who was born male will only be able to compete against another transgender boxer who was born male.”
The transgender boxing category will get started in 2023. In recent years, the topic of transgender athletes has seen some controversies. With this new division, it will be a safe and bold move for transgender boxers.
Boxing fans react to the introduction of the Transgender division
The news of the introduction of a transgender division in boxing got a mixed reaction from the fans. Some fans said that this is indeed a bold and safe move from the WBC. Mauricio Sulaiman added that they took this step to ensure the safety of the boxers.
The WBC president added that they would never allow a transgender, born a man, to fight a woman. Sulaiman urged transgender boxers from all over the world to participate.
Check out the fan tweets who supported this decision:
Beautiful job from the WBC Perfect solution 🙏🏽
— the big bad villain 👹 (@ZAYGREEDO) December 29, 2022
This is how it’s done. Make a whole separate category
— Jay Rhodes (@Jayrhodes74) December 29, 2022
Don’t know why people are kicking off at this. It’s the same reason there are weight divisions in the sport – to ensure the safety of those participating 🤷🏻♂️
— Ellis Davies (@TheEllisDavies) December 29, 2022
People are still mad about this, even though it’s going to be a separate division.
Is there any more evidence needed to prove that people just hate LGBT members for simply existing?— Juzam Djinn (@JuzamDjinn2500) December 29, 2022
It’s easier than rocket science.
Trans Man Vs Trans Man (so both biological women)
Trans Woman Vs Trans Woman (both born biologically men)
That’s all they’ve needed to do with these categories@DanRafael1 @MichaelBensonn
— 🗽FL Empire 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@CloudAtlas_47) December 29, 2022
On the other hand, this news angered some fans who believe that this is a bad look for the sport. As a result, they reacted negatively. Check out some of the tweets below:
No one has the balls to stand up to this LGBTQ nonsense thr WBC should be ashamed of itself
— *Bornagain* (@Bornagain7773) December 29, 2022
Fr lol, that’s what it’s all about, so embarrassing for the sport 🤦♂️
— Anthony Calixto (@anthonycalixto) December 29, 2022
He’s gonna go from a SHE/HER to a HE/HIM real quick in that ring. pic.twitter.com/e2N32FpDCN
— Imzee ✽ ✾ ✿ ❀ ❁ ❃ ❋ (@imzee786) December 29, 2022
Boycott the wbc now!! This is insane!!
— FkyourFeelings🥊🥊🥊 (@twiztid3091) December 29, 2022
When you thought boxing couldn’t get any more of a circus up steps the @wbcmoro all I can see are scenes from borat
— pru (@dingdingR1) December 29, 2022
throw the whole WBC out at this point. Mauricia pandering to any and everything to make a quick buck
— Beast (@Danny_de_Beast) December 29, 2022
It indeed looks like a bold decision from the WBC. This will also give the chance to transgender boxers who could not participate because of the rules. The new division will become official in 2023 and transgender boxers will be able to compete from next year. Fans will have to wait to see how the experiment works out.
What is your take on the decision from WBC? Let us know in the comment section.
