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Detailed Plan From WBC on Transgender Category for Boxing Gets a Green Light From 5X MMA World Champion

Published 12/30/2022, 2:15 PM EST

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The LGBTQ+ community is getting its due respect in all parts and fields of the world. From social acceptance to professional recognition, the community is growing incredibly. The fruits of their struggle have started to ripen and are proving to be scrumptious. The undying efforts allowed the recognition of the community into the world of sports. Although several sports had already allowed trans-women to compete in the women’s category. However, the WBC (World Boxing Council) is looking forward to making a different category for transgenders altogether.

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The news has reached several known sports personalities. One such example is the UFC legend, Jake Shields. The 43-year-old American fighter appreciated the gesture made by the WBC. However, Shields also called out the trans-women while doing so.

Transgender inclusion in other sports v/s boxing

While a lot of other sports include trans-women in the same category as other women, boxing has taken a drastically different approach. The WBC takes safety measures very seriously. Considering the policy of gender equality; they have decided on a few rules. The first one is that transgender fighters cannot compete against non-trans fighters. Following it, the fights will also use the ‘at-birth’ rule. This means that a trans-woman who was born a male will only compete with trans-women who were assigned to be male at birth.

Following this rule set up by the World Boxing Council, Jake Shields tweeted, “I’m all for this but have a feeling that trans ‘women’ won’t be.

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This foreshadows his thoughts on the pre-existing category system in sports. He also called out the trans-women to the advantage that they automatically receive in benefit of their brute strength.

Other MMA stars in support of this new boxing rule

Although not a lot of MMA stars have yet spoken up about the news, the rules introduced by the WBC do appeal to their pre-existing thought processes. The ex-UFC and now-WWE fighter Ronda Rousey once said, “if you already developed through puberty as a man, I don’t think you should be able to compete as a woman.”

This is because the hormonal changes in this given scenario will be much more similar to that of a man than a woman.

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UFC commentator Joe Rogan also shared a similar point of view in his podcast. He mentions how there is no issue with transgender people but with the way they are treated in sports.

WATCH: Ronda Rousey Gives Major Mom Goals to Mothers Across the Globe

A lot of athletes and sports personalities have a similar approach to the ‘trans-women competing in women’s category’ issue. Clashing opinions aside, there is a lot of hype for the upcoming boxing category. Upon getting the right fighters, the newly introduced category will be a revolutionary change in the game of boxing.

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Watch this story:- Jake Paul vs Paddy Pimbett 1 million dollar fight

What are your views on the introduction of the category? Are the new rules fair to everyone?

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Written by:

Kaif Ali

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Kaif Ali is a UFC content writer at Essentially Sports. He is a full-time student at Delhi University, pursuing a Bachelor's degree in the English language, and a sports enthusiast with a deep passion for MMA. He is always your go-to person when you wish to debate about any UFC champion.
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Edited by:

Vineet Nandwana