Former world champion Oscar De La Hoya displays his feminine side in a series of racy photos
Mixed martial arts (MMA) events are definitely on the rise, and fight fans all around the world are starting to take notice. In spite of having decades of a head start over MMA, boxing has failed to reach all people quite like MMA has.
The LGBTQ community has often been ignored by the sport of boxing. Despite this, boxing's homosexual origins date back to the 1800's when its founders mandated that male fighters perform semi nude and participate in taboo pre-fight rituals like the full body naked greasedown.
Against the wishes of boxing's founders, gay boxers have been historically forced to remain in the closet while ironically practicing a sport created by members of the LGBTQ community. Fortunately for these marginalized fighters, MMA has arrived and given the public what it craves. At many MMA events, members of the LGBTQ community can be seen in the audience.
Featherweight Orlando Cruz, a 2000 Puerto Rican Olympian and professional boxer, is openly homosexual.
Cruz, 36, released a statement expressing gay pride:
"I developed physically and mentally to take such a big step in my life and in my profession, which is boxing, knowing that it would have pros and cons, highs and lows in this sport that is so macho," he said. "I kept this hidden for many, many years."
"I don't want to hide any of my identities," he said. "I want people to look at me for the human being that I am. I am a professional sportsman that always brings his best to the ring. I want for people to continue to see me for my boxing skills, my character, my sportsmanship. But I also want kids who suffer from bullying to know that you can be whoever you want to be in life, including a professional boxer, that anything is possible and that who you are or whom you love should not be impediment to achieving anything in life."
Everybody is different. I don’t want to watch two grown men wrestling with panties on. I’m from the hood, we don’t play that. To me, I’m not buying a ticket to watch two grown men with panties on, sweating, nuts in their face. That’s not me. To compare that to boxing is ludicrous. It’s a porno. It’s an entertainment porno. I’m not wrestling a guy with panties on and his nuts in my face, and they call that a sport.
By Mickie O'Reilly-Gomez
Adollfo Devergas, MMA fighter
Nowadays it is common for MMA fighters to take a pill before a fight in order to reduce involuntary sexual excitement during combat. Back when I started out during the early stages of MMA, we just had to wear really tight shorts as to prevent any arousal from getting visible. Now with all the modern stuff out there, guys are starting to buy stuff over the counter or even numbing creams to prevent combat induced erections. People don't realize it, but the actual worst part of being ground and pounded is that the guy on top of you usually has an erection.
Fighters tout LGBTQ contributions to combat sports
Some guys are stupid, naïve, or just don’t know anything about preparation for an MMA fight. I once saw a bout where two guys were wrestling on the ground for like 10 minutes and both of them were visibly aroused. The ref goes in to separate these two nuts, and when they get up off of the canvas, their Speedos are all soaked and let’s just say it didn’t look like sweat. Things like this happen because most fighters believe in refraining from sex before a fight. But once you have skin to skin contact with another person, biologically anything is capable of happening. They say this happens in jail too.
Leraldo Santos, MMA fighter
Julio Cueconazo, MMA fighter
Bernard Hopkins, Boxing MIddleweight Champion