«Breaking News» Transgender boxer becomes the first to compete as a professional in US history

A transgender male boxer has become the first to compete as a professional in US history.

Patricio Manuel, 33, climbed into the ring at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California, on Saturday and defeated his opponent, Mexican super-featherweight Hugo Aguilar.  

Manuel, of Boyle Heights, fought in the 2012 US Olympic trials as a female, but a shoulder injury spelled the end of a bid to make the team for the London Games after just one bout.

Months later he began the transition to male, and after surgery and hormone treatments waded through the bureaucracy of getting licensed to fight.

Patricio Manuel, 33, climbed into the ring at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California, on Saturday and defeated his opponent, Mexican super-featherweight Hugo Aguilar (pictured)

Manuel had control in the first and third rounds and, at the end, the judges scored the fight 39-37 in favor of Manuel (pictured on Saturday)

California boxing authorities were wary of granting a license, but once the International Olympic Committee ruled prior to the 2016 Rio Games that female to male transgender athletes could compete 'without restriction' the way was cleared for him. 

Manuel struggled for years to find an opponent who would compete against a transgender boxer let alone a trainer.

The Desert Sun reports that eventually he found one in veteran Vic Valenzuela - who was connected with Golden Boy Promotions President Eric Gomez.

This eventually led to some amateur fights, on the condition that the transition would not be a media circus.

'I'm in a position where I can help, and I wanted to help and that's it,' Gomez told The Sun. 

'You can't hide it. I'm not trying to hide it, either. But I'm not going to use it as publicity.' 

Since the Olympic trials, he had fought only twice, and the match against Aguilar was his third.

Aguilar, who fought in the US for the first time this weekend, said he learned about Manuel's transition just two days before the fight, but he wasn't bothered.

Manuel, of Boyle Heights, fought in the 2012 US Olympic trials as a female, but a shoulder injury spelled the end of a bid to make the team for the London Games after just one bout.

Months later he began the transition to male, including surgery and hormone treatments. He plans to take a break before fighting again in February

'For me it's very respectable,' he told the Los Angeles Times in Spanish. 'It doesn't change anything for me. In the ring he wants to win and I want to win too.'  

In the first round, according to the Times, Manuel hit at Aguilar with four jabs before his opponent could even hit back.

In the second round, Aguilar came back and started throwing enough punches that Manuel was nearly knocked down.

But in the third, Manuel retook control and, at the end, the judges scored the fight 39-37 in favor of Manuel.  

Manuel says he plans to have a break before his next fight but that he is very excited to begin his new journey.  

'I'm going to take some time off, enjoy the holidays and then fight at the end of February. That's the goal,' he told the newspaper. 

'I definitely want to keep going. It's been so long since I fought. The rust has been shaken off. Now it's time to keep moving.' 

Link hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2018/12/09/transgender-boxer-becomes-the-first-to-compete-as-a-professional-in-us-history/
Main photo article A transgender male boxer has become the first to compete as a professional in US history.
Patricio Manuel, 33, climbed into the ring at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California, on Saturday and defeated his opponent, Mexican super-featherweight Hugo Aguilar.  
Manuel, of Boyle Heights, ...

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