Roilo Golez: The GAY-mazing Boxer!

During the Ferlinski’s Int’l Boxing Promotions Rise of Heroes,  team #POWCAST had the chance to have a quick interview with boxing's unusual figure, Roilo Ayop Golez a.k.a “The Phoenix”. He has a record of 34 boxing bouts,16 wins and 7 by knockout, lost 17 times, and 1 draw.

Golez, is an openly gay boxer who entered the world of boxing, during his early age.While vending plastic bag in their town market, he overheard a boxing bout in which unknowingly, he does not have any idea that it will be the start of a new chapter of his life. In short, he joined the said amateur bout and fortunately, he won and got the 25 peso amount of prize.

After winning, he got attracted to the sport and fought with different amateur boxing bouts and made the said sport as his source of income and is able to make a living to get his family out of poverty.

At first, he set a limit for himself, that if in 5 years he does not become a successful boxer, he’ll just switch and search for another job. But in just 6 months, he won the WBC Asian Boxing Council Championship for Minimumweight title on July 2011.

When asked on what can he say to those individuals who are planning to enter the world of boxing he said, "Entering this kind of sport (boxing) was never easy. It is like studying, the training enclosed with this sport wasn’t that easy as well and you need to give it your all like sacrificing your own life to be able to box." He also said, if you focus on what you are doing and love this job, it will yield favorable results in the future.

He also encouraged the other members of the LGBT specifically gays to not be afraid to enter the life that he has now, for it will help them not to get bullied and discriminated for who they are.

It only shows that being gay is not a hindrance to becoming a professional boxer or anyone you wanted to be. You can be anything you want as long as you believe in yourself and as long you believe that no one can draw and dictate your future, except you.