But I also want kids who suffer from bullying to know that you can be whoever you want to be in life, including a professional boxer. That anything i…

- Orlando Cruz

Boxing is a sport that is largely dominated by machos, by men who think we have to conform to a very specific role model. The ideal boxer doesn't thi…

- Orlando Cruz

15 or 20 years ago it would not have been possible for me to come out. Back then, people still had such narrow views, but today many of them are more…

- Orlando Cruz

For a long time I didn't want to accept that I was gay. Better said: I couldn't accept it because I was too afraid. Homosexuals were discriminated ag…

- Orlando Cruz

I don't want to be seen only as a boxer who is gay. I want to be a boxer who is professional, who pursues his goals and realizes his dreams. And my b…

- Orlando Cruz

I developed physically and mentally to take such a big step in my life and in my profession, which is boxing, knowing that it would have pros and con…

- Orlando Cruz

Four years ago, I was fighting for the world championship title in Puerto Rico. The spectators bad-mouthed me; they called me a faggot. They told my …

- Orlando Cruz

I came out as a gay as I have earned myself respect as an athlete. I have only lost 2 out of 22 professional fights. I knocked out some of my opponen…

- Orlando Cruz

I've been fighting for more than 24 years and as I continue my ascendant career, I want to be true to myself. I want to try to be the best role model…

- Orlando Cruz