In 2018, it should come as no surprise to anyone that transgender people are finding their place in the modern sports world. Regardless of your sex and/or gender, if you can ball, then, by all means, ball out fam (No pun intended). The most recent transgender athlete to make headlines is Patricio Manuel, 33, born a woman but identifies as male. Manuel won his debut match against Hugo Aguilar by unanimous decision after four rounds of fisticuffs.
It shouldn’t be hard to believe that a person who is biologically born female defeated a male born boxer and here’s why. The battle Pat Manuel has been fighting outside of the ring his whole life is more than likely ten times tougher to overcome then taking a few blows to the midsection. Chances are the reality of his struggle transitioning genders all while knowing how members of the LGBTQ community are treated in America are significantly tougher to deal with then bobbing and weaving. I’m sure his nerves were like 1000 volt circuits of electricity running through every ounce of his veins before the first bell rang. But now that his first pro-fight is over, which he won and silenced his critics maybe he can relax a little.
The next move for the super-featherweight boxer should be to just focus on his skills and become the best fighter he can be. Hopefully, now, people will just recognize Pat Manuel as a great fighter and not that boy who used to a be a girl trying to box with men.
