Let’s get one thing straight: Oscar “La Bestia” Bonifacino is not here to be your tragic queer backstory. He’s here to fight—and win—and he’s doing it with a left hook sharp enough to slice through machismo and a jawline that could headline its own Pride float.
At just 21, Bonifacino is already a unicorn in the ultra-masculine world of professional boxing: South America’s first openly gay male pro boxer. But don’t let the historic label fool you. He’s not just “the gay boxer.” He’s a damn good boxer who just happens to like men. And heels. And Beyoncé. Probably. (Unconfirmed, but it feels right.)
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Born and raised in Maldonado, a beachside city in Uruguay better known for its surf than its southpaws, Bonifacino found boxing at 17—not for glory, but for survival.
“I had already been hurt a couple of times, and I was having problems on the street,” he said. “Boxing was my way of channeling all my anger.”
Let that sink in. While other teens were choosing sports to get college scholarships or attention on TikTok, Oscar was dodging fists and slurs just for walking down the street. Boxing wasn’t a hobby—it was a sanctuary.
Under the watchful eye of Coach Elizabeth Cabrera at Knockoutcentro Gym (someone please give her a docuseries), Bonifacino refined a slick counterpunching style, smooth and strategic—like if James Baldwin and Sugar Ray Leonard had a love child with something to prove. He made his pro debut in February, annihilating Matias Agustin Gabrielli with a second-round KO. Yes, that’s a mic drop and a knockout.
“Signing with Sampson was the best thing that could happen to me,” Bonifacino said of promoter Sampson Lewkowicz.
“Through my quest to be world champion, he can help my story reach all those who need it to be free and not judged. I fight for all those who at some point could not raise their voices and I will always be grateful to Sampson for giving me the opportunity.”
Honestly, if that didn’t give you goosebumps, check your pulse—or your allyship.
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Lewkowicz, who has a well-earned rep for spotting talent in overlooked corners of the globe, knows exactly what he has in Bonifacino: more than a fighter, a force.
“I am very proud to be helping this young man fight for himself and for the bullied and oppressed people whose stories he knows only too well,” Lewkowicz said. “Oscar is a terrific role model for boxing with an incredible story of fighting your way out of hard times. I am proud to be his promoter.”
And while the boxing world isn’t exactly known for waving rainbow flags, Oscar is giving it no choice but to evolve—or get out of the way.
He’s not just training in Montevideo for his second bout—he’s building a movement with every punch. On June 13, Bonifacino returns to the ring at the WBA’s KO Drugs Festival in Buenos Aires. It’s a fitting event for someone who’s been fighting off toxicity since day one.
Boxing may be a lonely sport—just you, your fists, and 12 rounds of adrenaline—but Oscar Bonifacino isn’t alone in that ring. Every queer kid who’s been shoved in a locker, every man told to “butch it up,” every LGBTQ+ athlete who had to shrink themselves to fit into a world that didn’t want them—he’s carrying all of them with him.
And La Bestia isn’t just coming for titles. He’s coming to knock the closet door off its hinges.
Watch closely. You don’t want to miss what happens when rage, grace, and glitter gloves meet destiny.
Source: Fightbook MMA
That is awesome!!!! One of the best stories in this edition.