Patricio Manuel, who is a transgender boxer, won his first professional fight against the Mexican super-featherweight fighter Hugo Augliar in Indo, California on Saturday night. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
33 years old Manuel has become the first transgender male in the USA to have fought professionally.
Manuel said to media that, “I would not trade any of it. It was everything I went through to get to this point. I am now a professional boxer.”
Manuel previously fought in the 2012 Olympics trials as a female but his bid came to an end with a shoulder injury as he was left to join the team for the London Olympics after only one fight.
After that, he started his transition to a male. He started his surgery and hormone treatments and waded through the bureaucracy to get licenses for this fight.
California boxing authorities at first were wary to grant him the license. However due to the International Olympic Committee rule prior to the 2016 Rio Games which states, “female to male transgender athletes could compete “without restriction”, he was granted the license.
Aguilar who was fighting for the first time in the USA learned about Manuel’s female to male transition two days prior to the match. However, he said it was no problem.
He said to the media, “for me, it’s very respectable. This does not change anything for me. In the ring, he wants to win and I also want to win”.
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