In a heartwarming tweet, gay boxer Anthony Ash shared that he had three things to celebrate: stepping into the ring for the first time, winning for the first time, and his ENGAGEMENT!!
The emotional video shows gay boxer Anthony Ash, 32 from Cardiff in Wales, proposing to his partner Yanko after 11 years.
The tweet was met with tons of support and celebration:
@AlltogetherLGBT reacted to the tweet saying ‘Omg! This is amazing! Spreading the message of LOVE and that you can be gay, achieve your goals and play sports! #LoveWins”
@DragonAlone3 commented “am so Proud of you BOTH. CONGRATULATIONS. LOVe is LOVe and it is obvious you BOTH have IT!’
@mitman49 replied “Congrats on winning your fight and on your engagement. It certainly was a big night for you.”
Anthony told Gay Star News that he originally found it hard to fit into gay culture, saying “It was all fashion and pop music – I wasn’t into it. I thought I needed to be like that to be gay. And I tried to fit in for a few years, but it just wasn’t me.”
But he has now come to terms with being himself saying, “There’s nothing wrong with being gay and liking boxing.”
https://twitter.com/anth_ash/status/1139836602845401088?s=20
Anthony said that in the boxing community, he has been completely welcomed and ‘nobody cares’ that he’s a gay boxer. He added, “The reason for it is because, in the sport, it’s a competition of skill. When you get in the ring, it doesn’t matter who the other person is. What matters is what you’re able to do, what can you do, and how you can beat them.”
On why it was important to propose in the ring, he said, “ [Boxing is] a part of his life because he’s so supportive. It was such a big deal for me and him, and doing it in front of 350 people.”
Anthony and Yanko are now planning a small wedding with friends and family.
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