From Pageant to the Ring — All in the Week for Out British Boxer
Recently an out British man competed in a beauty pageant one day, then days later won a boxing match. Such is the life of 29-year old warehouse worker Mike Turner, who finished second in the Mr Gay England pageant on August 20. A week later, he competed at a SM Fightclub's event at MECA in Swindon, Wiltshire and won the match against his sparring partner, Callum Gooch.
"On the night, in my head, I thought people would think that I couldn't win the fight because I'm a gay man," he said in a report on MSN. "I had a lot of self-doubts; I thought people would expect me to lose. I don't think I was treated differently because I'm gay, but I do think people underestimated me."
But he liked his underdog status. "A few people were surprised afterwards, saying I could pack a punch... saying I did really well. I am about breaking boundaries — I want to shock people into changing their mindset.
Adding: "I want to inspire other gay men to step into the ring, or do other things that believe they can't just because of their sexuality. Even more so, I want to inspire other boxers to come out and be proud of who they are and never be afraid."
He plans on fighting again in December. In the meanwhile, he plans to train and deal with trolls on the internet. In fact, he would like a real-life troll to fight him in the ring. "I'd really like to fight an internet troll, as they seem to have a lot to say and want to judge me online."
He's not the only one who's been trolled online; so has his recent opponent because he lost the fight to a gay boxer. "My opponent was getting some abuse online too, being mocked for being beaten by a gay man. I think people believe it's banter, but it's really not funny.
He concluded. "I can take the banter, but sometimes it's annoying — just because I'm gay, I'm the subject of jokes. A straight man wouldn't get the same treatment so why should I?"
Joking, he added: "Luckily, I'm a boxer — so if it happened in person, I'd just spark them out."
Check out pics from Turner's Instagram: