Orlando "El Fenómeno" Cruz, a Puerto Rican boxer who was the first professional fighter in the U.S. to come out as gay, helped launch a Latino voting awareness campaign in Florida on Wednesday.

Cruz, ranked fifth in the junior lightweight division by the World Boxing Organization, was also in Orlando, Florida, earlier this week to pay his respects to the victims of the June 12 massacre at the Pulse nightclub.

The campaign, a venture between All Star Boxing, Inc. and Mi Familia Vota, will include advertisements on the corners of the fighting ring and on clothing worn by boxers shown on Boxeo Telemundo, a leading boxing show on Spanish-language television, through the summer.



“Through the campaign we hope Latinos in the U.S. will go out to vote in large numbers without fear and make their voices heard,” Cruz told BuzzFeed News. “It’s important because as immigrants, many of whom who come here to look for stability, we have to advocate for our rights.”

