By Jake Donovan
From the moment he publicly confirmed his alternate lifestyle, Orlando Cruz has proudly represented the LGBT community through his sport.
That statement never rang truer than for his next ring appearance.
The 2000 Puerto Rican Olympian and veteran contender returns to his home away from home in the greater Orlando area, where he faces Alejandro Valdez. Their super featherweight bout takes place this Friday live on Telemundo (11:35pm ET) from the Kissimmee Civic Center in Kissimmee, Florida.
The venue is roughly 30 minutes from Pulse, a gay night club in Orlando that was subject to the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history when 49 people were shot and killed in a horrific hate crime. Tuesday will mark the one-month anniversary of that tragic June 12 evening, with Cruz – who lost four friends in the horrific event - to commemorate the date by visiting the site and the victims' crosses, where he will leave his boxing gloves as well as flowers for the departed.
“This is my second home,” Cruz (23-4-1, 11KOs) noted to BoxingScene.com. “Orlando and Kissimmee, they're like a second Puerto Rico (the area second only to New York in the U.S. city boasting the most Puerto Rican residents). I'm always grateful for all of the love and support I get when I fight here.”
Cruz – the sport’s first openly gay boxer - fights in the greater Orlando area for the fourth time in his last five ring appearances and has fought in the region at least once every year since 2011. He fought at this very venue just days after he openly declared his homosexuality in Oct. ’12, a revelation that was followed up with a dominant 12-round decision win over Jorge Pazos.
An Olympic teammate alongside former multi-division champs Miguel Cotto and Ivan Calderon, Cruz still aims to become the third member of the team to claim alphabet hardware. He came up miserably short in an 8th round knockout loss to Orlando Salido in Oct. ’13, a setback that was followed by an upset loss to Gamalier Rodriguez.
He has since won three straight, including a 10-round unanimous decision over Romulo Koasicha this past March, which also aired on Telemundo.
More so than title aspirations, the 35-year old carries an entire community into the ring with him this weekend.
“My next (fight) comes with a heavy heart and I owe it to my fans and community to deliver a memorable performance,” said Cruz.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Follow his shiny new Twitter account: @JakeNDaBox_v2
