On Wednesday, featherweight Puerto Rican boxer Orlando Cruz made history by describing himself as a "proud gay man."
The No. 4-ranked featherweight by the WBO, said, "I’ve been fighting for more than 24 years and as I continue my ascendant career, I want to be true to myself…I want to try to be the best role model I can be for kids who might look into boxing as a sport and a professional career. I have and will always be a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and always will be a proud gay man."
As Curdell ‘Doc’ Hoskins, a gay 40-year-old amateur boxer who organized the Gay Boxing League, told Out in 2009, "Being gay in the boxing world is very taboo. There are definitely some out there, but no one talks about it."