British boxer keeping his gloves, undergoing sex change
Usually when we think of boxers we imagine fit, larger upper-bodied and strong, tough or otherwise masculine looking men. Trumpets and horns may even start sounding in your mind to the theme song of Rocky being played as he makes his way up the stairs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. My point is, the last image to appear in our minds when we think of boxing or boxers are flowers, dresses, tutus or stiletto heels.
This latest boxing tale changes all of that, and quite literally.
Rob Newbiggin of the U.K., also a 20-year boxing veteran, recently came out to the public about something pretty personal. No, he didn’t come out of the closet. He didn’t even come out of his boxing gloves, in fact, he’s planning on keeping those on through this whole thing.
The 44-year-old British boxer came out to announce his plans to undergo a sex change operation, as reported by the Liverpool Local News.
According to the same report, Newbiggin lost more than a few good buddies with his admittance. He lost every last one of them, save his 27-year-old wife, Emma, who says she’s going to stick by his side though the whole thing.
Newbiggin also announced that in his next fight he will be a woman. He’s even taking the necessary steps now to register for a license to box as a woman.
So where did this all begin, you might just be wondering? Newbiggin says he was born as an intersexual, or couldn’t be classified as either a female or male at the time of his birth.
Now this actually makes some sense. It’s the people who claim to have been “born in the wrong body” at the age of 34 and claim that they were really supposed to be a woman (if they were born a man) or man (if they were born a woman) that make less sense to me. Newbiggin seems to have some standing ground here, even on those always teetering moral grounds.
Either way, this story’s sure to continue to draw more attention as his surgery approaches, and especially his fight. I just wonder if he’ll bring some pink shorts to the ring.
Brittany @ August 3, 2009