Photo Gallery Coming Out in the Macho World of Boxing
On October 19, the featherweight boxed and won his first match since coming out against Jorge Pazos in Florida.
During the match, Cruz says he had the feeling that spectators accepted his choice to come out. "They kept calling out my name, much louder than during my earlier fights," he told SPIEGEL. "My opponent had said beforehand that what I did outside the ring was none of his business. I think that is the right attitude."
Regarding his body language during the fight, Cruz said: "Those gestures were my way of saying: 'This is my ring, my moment. No one is going to take this away from me.' My body language was also important because I wanted to prove to people that I am not a girl in the ring. I am a man in every sense of the word. That is how I want the spectators to see me."
