USA Boxing set out its ‘Transgender Policy’ for 2024 with male-to-female transitioners to be able to compete against born women.
The amateur mainstay of the unpaid code in the sport set out guidelines each transgender boxer must follow to trade blows with a cis-gender.
So far, the move has been met with anger from some. Meanwhile, the transgender and broader LGBTQ community has welcomed it.
USA Boxing Transgender Policy
Under the new rules, boxers must adhere to the following:
Minor boxers under 18 must compete as their birth gender in weight classes outlined in the USA Boxing Rulebook. USA Boxing will only communicate with minors with a parent or legal guardian present.
For boxers over the age of 18, USA Boxing follows the guidance of the IOC’s 2015 Consensus Meeting decision in Chand vs Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) and the 2022 United States Olympic Paralympic Committee (USOPC) Medical and Scientific Discussion Pertaining to Transgender Athletes in Sport, which cites studies from the Boston Children’s Hospital Sports Medicine and Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospital.
The usual range of testosterone for males is defined as more than ten nanomoles per liter (10 namol/L), and the normal range of testosterone for females is less than 3.1 nanomoles per liter (3.1 namol/L).
A boxer who transitions from male to female is eligible to compete in the female category under the following conditions:
• The athlete has declared that her gender identity is female and has completed gender reassignment surgery.
The athlete, for a minimum of four years after surgery, has had quarterly hormone testing and presents USA Boxing documentation of hormone levels.
The athlete must demonstrate that her total testosterone level in serum has been below five nmol/L for at least 48 months before her first competition (with the requirement for any more extended period to be based on a confidential case-by-case evaluation, considering whether or not 48 months is a sufficient length of time to minimize any advantage in women’s competition).
• The athlete’s total testosterone level in serum must remain below five nmol/L throughout
the period of desired eligibility to compete in the female category.
Trans boxers
Cases like Shindo Go and Alejandra Jimenez come to mind in the female category at a professional level. However, former WBC heavyweight champion Jimenez denied she was born a man.
Meanwhile, Patricio Manuel – who transitioned from female to male, has won three fights on the bounce against born men.
The debate will continue.
