Gay boxer Orlando Cruz wins fight dedicated to Pulse shooting victims
By Will Stroude
Orlando Cruz, the Puerto Rican boxer who made headlines around the world in 2012 after becoming the sport’s first professional fighter to come out publicly as gay, has won a fight he dedicated to the victims of last month’s tragic shooting at Pulse club in Orlando, Florida, which claimed the lives of 49 people.
Cruz, who was one of the first sportsmen to be inducted into the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame in 2013, knew four of the victims personally, and previously said he would dedicatee the World Boxing Organisation’s (WBO) North American lightweight title fight at Florida’s Kissimmee Civic Center to the memory of all those who died in the atrocity.
A 49-bell salute, honouring each of those who died at Pulse, rang out before the fight on on Friday (July 15), which saw Cruz emerge victorious after knocking out opponent Alejandro ‘Alex’ Valdez in the seventh round, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
“It was a great opportunity to get the win and represent my people,” Cruz said following the win. “I’m proud to give them an equal opportunity to compete. It meant a lot to get this win tonight, because it provides the opportunity for a world title.”
The fight was attended by a survivor of the Pulse shooting, Michael Gonzalez, who afterwards declared Cruz an LGBT hero.
“The fact that he’s gay is something huge,” Gonzalez said. “It proves that sexuality has nothing to do with whatever you dream. You can be a boxer, you can be a basketball player, you can be a baseball player and it’s completely normal. Their sexuality doesn’t ruin the fact that they can be skilled the same.”
Cruz, who is currently ranked at No. 5 among featherweights by the WBO, first acknowledged his sexuality publicly four years ago, stating: “I have and will always be a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and always will be a proud gay man”.
Meanwhile, we’re reflecting on last month’s violence at Pulse in out new August issue – available to download now – asking: ‘What have we learnt from Orlando?’
More stories:
Mum creates Tinder profiles for gay twin sons to find them boyfriends – WATCH
‘Coming out to my wife was hard, but coming out to my family was another level entirely’