Sometimes the most powerful stories do not begin on a grand stage, but in a place where the future seems reduced to surviving day to day. Óscar Bonifacino, a 21-year-old Uruguayan professional boxer and the first openly gay man in Latin America, knows well what it’s like to fight, and not just against his rivals in the ring.
He debuted as a professional just a few months ago, but his name already resonates beyond sport. In June he participated in the KO a las Drogas festival, organized by the World Boxing Association in Buenos Aires. It was not his first victory, but it was one of those moments that mark his career: he entered the ring wearing a sash with the colors of the rainbow flag. He didn’t do it to provoke, but to say out loud something that he kept quiet for years: he is gay, and he has no intention of hiding it.
From a tough childhood to a dream in the ring
He grew up in the Mario Benedetti settlement, in Maldonado, in a home marked by violence and the absence of affection. “I never had the affection of my family”, he admits. As a teenager, insecurity and pain led him to take dangerous paths, until his sister-in-law Jacque took him to a gym. There, with his gloves on, he discovered that he could channel his rage and energy into something that wouldn’t destroy him.
His progress was meteoric: just a month after his first training he was already competing as an amateur. Coach Elizabeth Cabrera not only refined her technique, she also opened the doors of her home and her confidence. It was to her that he confessed, after a long time, that he was gay. “My father would hit me to ‘straighten me out.’ I blocked that part of me for years,”he remembers.
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Pride, freedom and clean hits
Since coming out, he says he feels “happy, complete.” He finished his amateur stage with a brilliant record and second place in the WBC Latin American Amateur Championship in 2024. In 2025 he made the leap to professionalism with two consecutive victories, the last in the Buenos Aires festival.
But for Bonifacino, winning fights is only part of the mission.“I want no one to have to hide. Strength comes from the heart, not from fear,”he says. His presence and speech bother those who see boxing as a space reserved for the most rigid masculinity. And that is precisely where its impact lies.
A benchmark in a sport that still needs to change
His promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz — known for working with legends like Manny Pacquiao and Sergio “Maravilla” Martínez — assures that Bonifacino has a bright future. Beyond the titles, he sees it as an example of courage for athletes who, for fear of rejection, continue to hide who they are.
Critical perspectives: real change or specific exception?
Bonifacino’s case invites optimism, but also raises doubts. To what extent is his story a sign of a structural change in boxing and not just an exception that proves the rule? Homophobia in sport does not disappear overnight, and visibility carries real risks: from public rejection to isolation within the teams themselves. Without a broader commitment from federations, media and sponsors, Bonifacino’s fight could remain a brave but lonely gesture.
