LGBTQ

Orlando Cruz : ‘I’m gay, but I’m also a boxer. This is my time’

Four weeks ago, just after 10 o’clock on a Saturday night in downtown Buffalo, New York, Orlando Cruz looked wistfully out the window as our car sped through the deserted streets

Published

12 years ago

October 11, 2013

UVM Staff

Table of Contents

Four weeks ago, just after 10 o’clock on a Saturday night in downtown Buffalo, New York, Orlando Cruz looked wistfully out the window as our car sped through the deserted streets.

After a brutal day in the gym, sparring 12 rounds against four different opponents, he yearned for a fleeting escape from preparations for his first world title fight.

“There are only four gay bars in Buffalo,” Cruz said, switching from Spanish to English, “and they’re not so exciting. But … you know …”

Orlando Cruz laughed because, a year after coming out as boxing’s first publicly gay fighter, he could afford to be open. He was a month away from the fight of his life, which takes place on Saturday night in Las Vegas as he challenges Mexico’s Orlando Salido for the WBO world featherweight title, but he still loved his new liberty.

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Unheard Voices, an award-winning, family-operated online news magazine, began in 2004 as a community newsletter serving Neptune, Asbury Park, and Long Branch, N.J. Over time, it grew into a nationally recognized Black-owned media outlet. The publication remains one of the few dedicated to covering social justice issues. Its honors include the NAACP Unsung Hero Award and multiple media innovator awards for excellence in social justice reporting and communications.