A female boxer withdrew from a match after she was informed her opponent was transgender at the 2023 Provincial Golden Glove Championship, Daily Mail reported Sunday.
Dr. Katia Bissonnette was supposed to go up against transgender fighter Mya Walmsley. Since Bissonnette withdrew from the fight, Walmsley was declared the winner by default due to the lack of a replacement competitor in their weight class, per Daily Mail. The crux of the controversy lies in Bissonnette’s safety concerns, fueled by a University of Utah study suggesting that men can punch 163% harder than women.
“Women shouldn’t have to bear the physical and psychological risks brought by a man’s decisions regarding his personal life and identity,” Bissonnette said in a statement, per Reduxx. “There should be two categories: biological male and female.”
Walmsley, who has not disclosed her history of fights in Canada, criticized Bissonnette for making the issue public instead of resolving it privately.
“This kind of behavior puts athletes at risk of being excluded or receiving personal attacks based on hearsay,” Walmsley said in a statement, per Daily Mail. “I am afraid that this type of accusation could eventually be used to delegitimize athletes in the women’s category, and justify arbitrary and invasive regulations.”
The International Olympic Committee allows transgender women to compete in women’s categories if their testosterone levels are reduced to a specified threshold. However, Walmsley confirmed that such testing was not a prerequisite for her participation in the championship. She argues against what she views as “arbitrary and invasive” testing protocols, per Daily Mail.
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