Gay Puerto Rican boxer- 'They can call me a faggot. I don't care. I decided to be free': Orlando Cruz on his fight to come out as the first openly gay boxer
The first professional boxer to come out as gay has spoken of his lifelong battle to accept his sexuality.
In a searing interview ahead of a fight tonight, Orlando Cruz revealed he had had seen a psychiatrist for years before he made the announcement earlier this month.
And the 31-year-old spoke of his fury at how the gay community in his native Puerto Rico were persecuted and ostracised for their sexuality.
Pazos, a featherweight who goes head-to-head with Jorge Pazos in Florida tonight, described how he had spent 12 years coming to terms with who he was.
'I decided to be free,’ he told The Guardian. ‘They can call me "maricon" or "faggot" and I don't care. Let them say it because they can't hurt me now.
‘I have done well as a boxer but, all this time, I have been living with this thorn inside me. I wanted to take it out of me so I could have peace with myself.’
Cruz, who is currently ranked fourth by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) talked of growing up on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, a conservative society where homosexuals are shunned.
He said that one of his friends was murdered for being gay and that the pressure made many consider suicide.
The boxer came out to his parents in 2001. But it was not until he moved to New Jersey two years ago that he started considered going public. It was at that point he began psychological therapy.
Eventually, he decided he was ready to come out and did so in an announcement earlier this month.
He now says that he wants to be ‘a force for change’.
Once seen as one of the last bastions of homophobia, athletes from a whole of range of sports have announced in recent years they were gay. But no active boxers had come out, until Cruz.
He said he had been stunned by the amount of support he has received from other professional fighters after initially being filled with anxiety about how people would react.
But an intense desire to live an authentic life compelled him to make the announcement.
'The only thing I want is to be respected. I'm an athlete,' he said, exuding confidence moments after his workout to popular salsa tunes.
'I'm a professional and my personal life should not matter to anyone.'
Cruz said he began boxing at the age of seven after being captivated by the way Muhammad Ali moved in the ring.
'Muhammad Ali and I, we're very similar. We have the same motion in the ring,' said Cruz. 'We have the same move, the same show. "This is my ring! It's my show! It's my time!" That's Muhammad Ali. I love him!'
Domiga Torres Rivera, Cruz's mother, recalled the moment, several years ago, when her son held her hands tight and said 'Mom we need to talk' and had difficulty uttering the words: 'I'm gay.'
'For a mother, it's very tough to hear that,' she said. 'But it's your own blood and there's no question that you will love them and support them, not shun them. We can't force our children to be who they're not.'
Cruz said he was now ready to move on with his life and focus on the road to the world title. He was ambitious and determined to make it to the top and said his next bout was a key step in that direction.
The first professional boxer to come out as gay has spoken of his lifelong battle to accept his sexuality.
In a searing interview ahead of a fight tonight, Orlando Cruz revealed he had had seen a psychiatrist for years before he made the announcement earlier this month.
And the 31-year-old spoke of his fury at how the gay community in his native Puerto Rico were persecuted and ostracised for their sexuality.
Pazos, a featherweight who goes head-to-head with Jorge Pazos in Florida tonight, described how he had spent 12 years coming to terms with who he was.
'I decided to be free,’ he told The Guardian. ‘They can call me "maricon" or "faggot" and I don't care. Let them say it because they can't hurt me now.
‘I have done well as a boxer but, all this time, I have been living with this thorn inside me. I wanted to take it out of me so I could have peace with myself.’
Cruz, who is currently ranked fourth by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) talked of growing up on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, a conservative society where homosexuals are shunned.
He said that one of his friends was murdered for being gay and that the pressure made many consider suicide.
The boxer came out to his parents in 2001. But it was not until he moved to New Jersey two years ago that he started considered going public. It was at that point he began psychological therapy.
Eventually, he decided he was ready to come out and did so in an announcement earlier this month.
He now says that he wants to be ‘a force for change’.
Once seen as one of the last bastions of homophobia, athletes from a whole of range of sports have announced in recent years they were gay. But no active boxers had come out, until Cruz.
He said he had been stunned by the amount of support he has received from other professional fighters after initially being filled with anxiety about how people would react.
But an intense desire to live an authentic life compelled him to make the announcement.
'The only thing I want is to be respected. I'm an athlete,' he said, exuding confidence moments after his workout to popular salsa tunes.
'I'm a professional and my personal life should not matter to anyone.'
Cruz said he began boxing at the age of seven after being captivated by the way Muhammad Ali moved in the ring.
'Muhammad Ali and I, we're very similar. We have the same motion in the ring,' said Cruz. 'We have the same move, the same show. "This is my ring! It's my show! It's my time!" That's Muhammad Ali. I love him!'
Domiga Torres Rivera, Cruz's mother, recalled the moment, several years ago, when her son held her hands tight and said 'Mom we need to talk' and had difficulty uttering the words: 'I'm gay.'
'For a mother, it's very tough to hear that,' she said. 'But it's your own blood and there's no question that you will love them and support them, not shun them. We can't force our children to be who they're not.'
Cruz said he was now ready to move on with his life and focus on the road to the world title. He was ambitious and determined to make it to the top and said his next bout was a key step in that direction.
Source: dailymail
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