The World Boxing Council (WBC) will introduce a new category in 2023 for transgender athletes to compete against members of their biological sex, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman revealed in an interview with the Telegraph on Thursday.
The WBC plans to establish an all-trans league in 2023, wherein trans athletes cannot compete against non-trans fighters. Boxing would also adopt an “at birth” rule, which would only allow athletes to compete against other members of their biological sex. (RELATED: Man Imprisoned For Murdering Parents And Family Dog Now Listed As Female In Prison Records)
“In boxing, a man fighting a woman must never be accepted regardless of gender change. There should be no grey area around this, and we want to go into it with transparency and the correct decisions,” Sulaiman said in the interview. “Woman to man or man to woman transgender change will never be allowed to fight a different gender by birth.”
“[W]e will not allow – ever – a transgender born a man to fight a woman, who was born a woman.”
Full story from @TelegraphSport as WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman reveals they intend to create a new separate category to allow transgender boxing in 2023.https://t.co/wkg3tUwqyO
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) December 29, 2022
Biological men competing as women in female sports leagues has been a source of polemic in recent months. After breaking several records competing as a woman, biologically male University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas defeated his female competitors by 1.75 seconds in the 500m free at the NCAA Championships in March, causing a firestorm as teammates and the university itself debated whether Thomas should be allowed to compete in the women’s events.
Biological men are trouncing women in sports competitions across the country, a Daily Caller News Foundation analysis found. Dozens of athletic competitions have been affected, as vast differences in strength between men and women remain even after transgender hormonal treatments.