Female Pro Boxer & Her Coach Blast USA Boxing Transgender Policy: 'Isn't Right'

In 2023, USA Boxing announced a new transgender policy that allows males who have undergone sex reassignment surgery – and maintain a specific testosterone level – to compete in women's boxing. 

Sarah Cunningham, a professional boxer in Michigan, told OutKick that she was upset when the organization made the decision that would ultimately allow males to fight females in the ring. 

"A male has a different body structure, bone structure, and muscle structure… and that's what gives them an advantage," Cunningham, who is also a registered nurse and sports dietitian, said.

"Having them come over and take over women's sports…  [even if] they've had surgery, it still doesn't make it right." 

Cunningham stressed that she has no issues with people identifying how they choose, if it makes them happy. But she said that despite having empathy for transgender people, allowing them to compete in women's sports is wrong. 

"If you think you're another gender, I really don't care. I'm all for being happy, everybody deserves happiness," she said. "But in terms of competing and boxing, and going from male into female, that's a different story because your body is different. It doesn't have anything to do with what you have underneath your clothes." 

One of the major issues with the USA Boxing policy is that the organization is not obligated to tell women that they might be matched against a male. That's something to which Cunningham's coach, Jeff Watters, strongly objected. 

"My biggest question [for USA Boxing] is would I be notified if one of my girls was about to fight, essentially, a guy? I don't mean to sound insensitive, but if my girl was going to have to fight a guy, would I be told ahead of time because I'm not good with it and I would pull her out of it," he said. 

"And I was told that they would not be obligated to let me know. They would not even be obligated to let the promoter know." 

Professional women's boxer Sarah Cunningham and her coach, Jeff Watters, talked to OutKick about the USA Boxing transgender policy that allows males to fight females.

(Sarah Cunningham)

That's when Watters started posting on social media, raising his objection to the new policy that would not only allow males to box against females, but to do so potentially without making the female opponent aware of the situation. 

Watters noted that other people in the boxing community felt the same way he did, but many were afraid to voice their opinions publicly for fear of blowback from USA Boxing. 

"The shows we did after that, the promoters all felt the same way. They just couldn't say it, you know?" he said. 

After Watters made his concerns public, he said that's when he started to run into problems with USA Boxing. Because Watters runs a gym, he must be licensed through USA Boxing, or risk losing the insurance on his gym. 

"Once I started to post things and tag them on it, regarding my opposition to their new policy, my licensing got held up for a while. My coaching license got held up for a while as well," Watters said. 

He added that he had been a USA Boxing coach since 2018 and had never experienced a problem with licensing renewal. At least, not until he started publicly voicing frustration over the transgender policy. 

OutKick reached out to USA Boxing regarding Watters' claims, but they could not be immediately reached for comment. 

Sarah Cunningham had her own issues with social media, with regard to her opposition to the transgender policy, but hers came directly from Instagram. Cunningham told OutKick that Instagram removed some of her posts and deemed them as "misinformation." 

Her posts were about Imane Khelif, the fighter who won Olympic gold in women's boxing despite previously failing gender tests. She shared those posts with OutKick: 

Cunningham's biggest complaint with the transgender policy, not just in boxing but in all sports, is that many governing bodies use testosterone level as the determining factor. But because of Cunningham's medical background, she's acutely aware that more goes into determining athletic performance than one hormone level. 

"I've been a nurse for over 21 years, and a single testosterone level doesn't mitigate all the biological advantages of being born male," she said. 

Despite the issues, both Cunningham and Watters continue to train and fight, not just in the ring, but for fairness in the sport that they both love.