The young Uruguayan boxer is training for his next big match — but his most important fight is for visibility, dignity, and freedom.
At just 21, Oscar Bonifacino has stepped into the history books as the first openly gay man to compete professionally in men’s boxing in South America.
His professional debut in February 2025 was electric — a technical knockout in the second round against Matías Gabrielli in his hometown of Maldonado, Uruguay. But it wasn’t just the win that made headlines. Standing in the ring, heart still pounding, he declared to the crowd: “I am a free person. I am a gay man.”
Oscar’s fight didn’t begin in the ring. It began in a childhood marked by hardship — family violence, struggles with addiction, and even surviving a gunshot wound to the foot. At 17, he found boxing, and with it, a path to discipline, resilience, and the courage to be himself.
Coming out didn’t weaken him — it sharpened him. In his second pro fight in Buenos Aires, he wore a rainbow belt, each punch a statement that queer athletes belong here. The moment went viral, inspiring thousands and sparking conversations far beyond the boxing world.
Now living in Montevideo and working with world-renowned promoter Sampson Lewkowicz — the man who discovered Manny Pacquiao — Oscar is preparing for a fight he promises will be “something big.”
“For too long, we were told we couldn’t be strong, brave, and free at the same time. But we can. Being yourself doesn’t weaken you — it frees you.”
In a sport long dominated by machismo, Oscar Bonifacino is living proof that pride is power, visibility is victory.
