ORLANDO CRUZ HAS BEEN CROWNED MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR BY OUTSPORTS

“Pride. That’s the word that comes to mind when we think of Orlando Cruz”, stated Outsportsupon making the announcement.

“That he continues to perform at such a high level in the uber-macho sport of boxing, wrapping himself in rainbow flags … makes his selection as 2016 Male Athlete of the Year that much sweeter”, the publication added.

Cruz follows in the footsteps of Canadian figure skater Eric Radford and American soccer player Robbie Rogers who picked up the gong in 2015 and 2014 respectively.

Last month the lightweight lost out on becoming the first gay world boxing champion. The boxer lost in a fight against Terry Flanagan, who threw a powerful right-hand punch which brought Cruz to the floor in the eighth round of the match.

He had been hoping to inspire millions around the world by taking the title.

Cruz came out in 2012 and married his long-term boyfriend José Manuel in 2013. Earlier this year the boxer dedicated fights he had won to the victims of the Orlando massacre.

He previously spoke about being a role model for anyone who wants to take up boxing as a professional career. “I want to try to be the best role model I can be for kids who might look into boxing as a sport.”

SOURCE: PINK NEWS

ORLANDO CRUZ WILL FIGHT TO BECOME THE WORLD'S FIRST GAY BOXING CHAMPION

Orlando Cruz made history when he became the world’s first openly gay boxer to come out and to continue playing professionally.

But the Puerto Rican athlete is ready to make history once again by fighting one more round before he goes up against WBO interim world champion super featherweight Miguel Berchelt.

‘We are working hard for this fight and hope to do well. We are facing Berchelt in January or February for the interim world title. But I have an excellent team and we have no hurry to get to that point. We are at the time of assimilating weight and going step by step,’ the boxer said in a report by El Vocero, a Puerto Rican newspaper.

He will go up against Luis Sanchez on 7 October.

‘At 35 years old – I feel great. I know my opponent will come to fight, but I am prepared and ready for victory and then to be crowned world champion. I’m focused on becoming the only gay world champion in boxing history,’ he added.

Cruz is already on a winning streak.

He won his last fight in July after dedicating it to the victims of the Pulse shooting in Orlando, Florida. Cruz lost four friends in the mass murder that claimed the lives of 49 people.

While he was unable to attend the victims’ funerals because of training, he has been to visit Pulse to lay down gloves and flowers at the memorial.

When the boxer came out in 2012, he said: ‘They can call me maricón, or faggot, and I don’t care. Let them say it because they can’t hurt me now. I am relaxed. I feel so happy.

‘But to make this announcement to the whole world I had to be very strong. … I am proud to be Puerto Rican, just like I am proud to be a gay man.’

SOURCE: GAY STAR NEWS

GAY BOXER WILL HONOR ORLANDO VICTIMS WITH UPCOMING FIGHT

The country’s first openly gay boxer will take to the ring to honor the memory of those killed in the June 12 mass shooting in Orlando, Florida. 

Orlando Cruz, who came out in 2012, will face off against Alejandro “Alex’’ Valdez, three days after the one-month anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting that left 49 people dead and 53 more injured, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The July 15 fight will take place in Kissimmee, Florida, roughly 30 minutes from the nightclub. 

The boxer, 35, will be a part of a 49-bell salute to each of the Pulse victims, and is set to wear a pair of specially-designed trunks as a tribute. “It is a surprise,” he said of the design in a July 9 interview with the Sentinel. 

Cruz, who lives in Puerto Rico with his husband, told BuzzFeed that he was close friends with Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, one of the Pulse shooting victims. 

“It really affected me and made me angry to see that among so many dead was my close friend,” he told BuzzFeed. “Gay people have rights just like everybody else and everyone needs to realize that we deserve to live openly and happy.”

On Tuesday, Cruz visited the memorial that has been erected outside of Pulse. Photos of the boxer kneeling beside the makeshift shrine were posted on Twitter. 

After his visit to Pulse on Tuesday, Cruz announced that he was helping to launch a Latino voting awareness campaign in Florida, according to BuzzFeed. 

The boxer has said he felt both sad and angry in the days after the shooting. 

“I am very angry because people are homophobic, so they attacked my community,” he told the Sentinel. “They attacked me.”

SOURCE: HUFFPOST QUEER VOICES

ORLANDO CRUZ, FIRST OPENLY GAY PROFESSIONAL BOXER, MARRIES PARTNER

“Giving thanks to my heavenly father for one more day of life and with my husband José Manuel in it,” Cruz wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday.

Cruz, 31, announced his sexual orientation in October 2012, becoming the first pro boxer to come out as openly gay while still competing.

“I have and will always be a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and always will be a proud gay man,” he said at the time.

He was among the first class of inductees into the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame on August 2, 2013.

Cruz announced his engagement to Manuel in August.

SOURCE: LGBTQ NATION

ORLANDO CRUZ LOSES HIS WORLD TITLE FIGHT

Puerto Rican boxer Orlando “The Phenomenon” Cruz, boxing's first openly gay fighter, on Saturday lost his bid for a world title.

Mexico's Orlando Salido won the vacant WBO featherweight title after he knocked out Cruz in the seventh round. The bout took place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Despite the loss, Cruz, who came out gay last year, goes down in history as the first openly gay boxer to fight for a world title.

The 32-year-old boxer entered the ring wearing a pair of rainbow-colored trunks to support the LGBT community and pink boxing gloves to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month. ESPN reported that members of Cruz's team also waved rainbow-colored flags.

“I went into the corner and he hit me with a good shot,” Cruz said. “I though the fight was close up until then. It was going back and forth.”

Cruz also dedicated the fight to the late Emile Griffith, one of the greatest boxers in history, who came out bisexual in an interview with Sports Illustrated.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

ORLANDO CRUZ READY FOR WORLD TITLE FIGHT

Puerto Rican boxer Orlando “The Phenomenon” Cruz says he's ready for Saturday's world title fight.

The 32-year-old Cruz is training to fight Mexico's Orlando Salido for the vacant WBO featherweight title. The bout will take place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

In remarks to the UK's The Independent, Cruz, who came out last year, said that he was ready to make history as the world's first openly gay boxer to win a world title. But win or lose, Cruz will still go down in history as the first openly gay boxer to fight for a world title.

“I now feel free to just get on with the boxing,” Cruz said. “I'm not fighting two opponents any longer and that is a great relief. The nights of staying awake and crying are over.”

Cruz has dedicated the upcoming fight to Emile Griffith, one the greatest boxers in history. Griffith, who died over the summer in New York, acknowledged that he was bisexual in an interview with Sports Illustrated.

“I like men and women both,” he said. “But I don't like that word: homosexual, gay or faggot. I don't know what I am. I love men and women the same, but if you ask me which his better … I like women.”

Salido said that he wasn't concerned about Cruz's sexual orientation.

“Gay, so what?” he said. “We are just two fighters and we both want to win the world title.”

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

ORLANDO CRUZ SAYS COMING OUT GAY WAS ABOUT RESPECT

Puerto Rican boxer Orlando “The Phenomenon” Cruz says his decision to come out gay was about respect.

The 32-year-old Cruz is training to fight Mexico's Orlando Salido for the vacant WBO featherweight title. The October 12 fight will take place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

In remarks to UK's The Guardian, Cruz said that he was training hard, often three times a day, in preparation for next month's fight.

“It's hard training,” Cruz said. “Hard, very hard training.”

On his decision to come out gay last October, Cruz said it was about respect

“I want respect, that's it. It's my decision, it's my life,” he said.

Cruz added that 95 percent of comments he's received have been supportive.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAGAZINE