On Friday, February 20, the transgender boxer from Marseille, Maho Bah-Villemagne, won his first professional boxing match in Thailand. Têtu collected his initial reactions.
When Maho Bah-Villemagne steps into a ring, it is never just a fight. On Friday, February 20, at the Rawai Boxing Stadium in Phuket, Thailand, the 31-year-old Marseille native fought his first professional boxing match and celebrated his first victory against a male opponent. The athlete had settled in ten days earlier and was training at a camp, Kru Oh Muay Thai, alongside French coach Steven Juquin. Across from him in the ring stood the Thai fighter Charoen Phongsarn, nicknamed “The Killer”.
Despite the stifling heat and a local crowd coming to support his opponent, Maho stepped into the ring lighter than ever. “Neither the promoters nor my opponent knew I am a trans man, he explained to Têtu. Only my coaches were aware. Mentally, I could feel the difference. It was a different experience. All I had to do was work on my boxing, without telling myself I had something to prove.”, he told Têtu before adding: “When I usually step into the ring, I know that something bigger than me is at stake. But this time, my survival is at stake; it’s me they want to KO. This time, I was so at ease and light that it was I who KO’d him.”
View this post on Instagram
Sophie Brennan