Female Boxer Refuses to Fight Trans Opponent in Canadian Championship Match
by Warner Todd Huston
A female boxer in Quebec withdrew from a provincial boxing championship last month after being told without notice that she would have to fight a male-born transgender opponent.
Boxer Dr. Katia Bissonnette of Saguenay refused to step into the ring with transgender opponent Mya Walmsley during the 2023 Provincial Golden Glove Championship, which took place October 27 to 29, according to Reduxx.
The event hosted in Victoriaville, Quebec, by the Quebec Boxing Federation and the KO-96 boxing club was held to give novice fighters a shot at qualifying for the Canadian Championship in December.
But when Bissonnette was told of her match, she says she was unaware that she was to face a male fighter until an hour before fight time.
A female boxer withdrew from a championship in Quebec, Canada, after learning she was set to fight a trans-identified male.
Katia Bissonnette tells Reduxx she learned her opponent was a man just one hour before she was set to step into the ring.https://t.co/ntnivo4Xx2
— REDUXX (@ReduxxMag) November 15, 2023
“I came down from my hotel room to head towards the room where all the boxers were warming up. My coach suddenly took me aside and told me he received information by text message, which he had then validated, that my opponent was not a woman by birth. We did not have any other additional information,” Bissonnette told Reduxx.
She added that Walmsley was new to the area, having only moved to Canada from Australia two years ago, and had not been seen in the boxing community until that day.