World Gay Boxg Champnships look to ‘dispt’ homophobia sports - Outsports

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Orlando Cz chatted polely, a small, stylish man wh a very big msage. Nearly a year ago, Cz, a former Puerto Rin Olympian and a top featherweight, announced he was gay, ostensibly beg the first profsnal male boxer to e out while he was still fightg.

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ORLANDO CZ: BOXER DREAMS OF BEG FIRST OPENLY GAY WORLD CHAMPN

Orlando Cz will create history by beg the first openly gay boxg world champn should he feat Terry Flanagan on Saturday. * gay boxing champ *

Through his journey boxg, Stark has e to anize the World Gay Boxg Champnships (WGBC), the world’s first LGBTQI+ boxg tournament, which will be held Sydney 2023. As well as troducg the sport to a whole new dience, Stark hop that the WGBC n “dispt homophobia, transphobia, hatred sport.

“And I thk that’s where my whole spir of clivy om – bee of what other people have achieved and for me, my anizatn, we’re very much around the grassroots and amatr level, but we want to dispt homophobia, transphobia, hatred sport. He remembers llg himself “the future world gay boxg champn” as a joke.

He did have dreams of boxg at the 2022 Gay Gam, but the sport was elimated om the upg gam – postponed until 2023 bee of the ronavis panmic. “There have been very few out profsnal gay male boxers who have won major champnships, ” he explaed. Like the Bgham Cup – a biennial, ternatnal, non-profsnal, gay gby unn tournament – he hop that the WGBC n enurage young members of the LGBTQI+ muny wh an tert boxg to try the sport.

THE WORLD GAY BOXG CHAMPNSHIPS LOOK TO ‘DISPT’ HOMOPHOBIA SPORTS

Founr Mart Stark plans to hold the first World Gay Boxg Champnships Sydney, Atralia 2023 wh a number of LGBTQ fight nights the lead up. * gay boxing champ *

But as well as enuragg engagement wh the sweet science, Stark hop he n have an effect on stoppg homophobia and transphobia sport. Acrdg to one study, 80 percent of the more than 12, 000 participants om across the world have wnsed or experienced homophobia sports.

NFL COACH COM OUT AS GAY HISTORIC ANNOUNCEMENT

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The study also found that 78 percent of the participants believed that an openly gay person would not be very safe as a spectator at a sportg event. “The reason I set up the anizatn, I want [homophobia, transphobia, etc. Will he be boxg's first openly gay champn?

Cz aims to bee boxg's first openly gay world champn. Beme boxg's first openly gay, active fighter 2012.

Deeply embedd two worlds – boxg and Puerto Ri – that are found machismo, Cz has also bee a gay in to thoands. On Saturday, Cz has the chance to create history – should he beat Bra’s Terry Flanagan for the WBO lightweight tle, the 35-year-old will bee the first ever openly gay world champn.

ORLANDO CZ RELISH CHANCE TO BEE BOXG'S FIRST OPENLY GAY CHAMPN

Anti-gay boxg champ Tyson Fury says he uld qu the sport and "sail to the sunset". * gay boxing champ *

Boxg, like many other sports, is yet to fully open s arms to the ia of a gay athlete, somethg Cz has unsurprisgly experienced first-hand. “I don’t re if they say, ‘Orlando Cz is gay.

JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH MAJOR MEN'S PRO SPORTS TO INTIFY AS GAY

Mart Stark is the self-proclaimed "gay boxg champn" and he's creatg a boxg anizatn and champnship for like-md fightg queers. * gay boxing champ *

Wh so few openly gay, active profsnal athlet across all sports, Cz is aware what the rult of the fight will mean to those who look up to him.

“The support of the gay muny, Puerto Ri, New York and different natnali, is very important, ” he says. In 2013, his chance to bee the first openly gay boxg champn me and went btal fashn.

THE GROUNDBREAKG BOXG CHAMP WHO LOST HIS TLE—BEE HE WAS GAY

Orlando Cz lost his chance to bee the first gay world boxg champn last night. * gay boxing champ *

Cz me out to his fay and a psychologist long before publicly announcg he was gay 2012.

WHAT ’S LIKE BEG AN OPENLY GAY BOXER, 3 TERRIBLE TWEETS

I don’t re that other people talk about me, sayg, ‘Orlando Cz is gay, Orlando is bad or bulls***. For many, boxg is sport’s ultimate show of masculy and Cz still regularly fds himself fightg the misnceptn that a man n’t be both gay and mascule.

ANTI-GAY BOXG CHAMP TYSON FURY MIGHT QU AND ‘SAIL TO THE SUNSET’

“Sometim one, two or three people say, ‘you’re gay, and you’re a boxer… wow. I say, ‘I am gay, but I am a man like you.

“I am gay and I am the first openly gay boxer, but this has been my reer for years.

“People say, ‘Orlando is gay but this is boxg, boxg is macho. ’ I have to tell them, ‘Orlando Cz is gay, but he’s a man… not a girl.

ORLANDO CZ LOST THE CHANCE TO BEE FIRST GAY WORLD BOXG CHAMPN

“Ee Griffh never spoke publicly or told an terview he was gay, ” Cz says.

Cz n still vividly remember the feelg of steppg to the rg for the first time as an openly gay man, retag his WBO Lato Featherweight tle agast Mexin Je Pazos. Such is Cz’s fluence the gay muny and wir sportg world, Jason Colls – the first openly gay active basketball player – ntacted him to say he’s an spiratn for “g out of the closet. Wh gay marriage illegal Puerto Ri – the Caribbean island where the uple ris, albe at oppose sis of the untry – and many US stat, they had some thkg to do.

ORLANDO CZ FIGHTS TO BEE BOXG’S FIRST OPENLY GAY CHAMPN

The Englishman’s sister, a profsnal footballer the Women’s Super League, is also openly gay. It don’t affect me at all as my sister Chelsea is openly gay. While Flanagan’s views are rehg – Cz also says he has received nothg but rpect om opponents – there are still high-profile figur boxg who are openly homophobic.

Former heavyweight world champn Tyson Fury has regularly shown disda towards homosexuals, while Manny Pacquiao earlier this year lled upl same-sex relatnships “worse than animals.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY BOXING CHAMP

Orlando Cz relish chance to bee boxg's first openly gay champn .

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