Boxing President Halts Plans for 12-Year-Old Girl to Make Her Professional Debut in the Sport: ‘Stop This Atrocity’

A 12-year-old boxer will not be making her professional debut after the World Boxing Council (WBC) intervened.

Mauricio Sulaimán, the WBC’s president, confirmed in a statement on X on Friday, July 25, that Romina “La Bambita” Castan would not be fighting in her first professional match in Veracruz, Mexico, on Saturday, July 26, following widespread international backlash.

“I’m happy to inform [you] that 12-year-old Romina Castan will not fight tomorrow. The WBC will guide her father and support her amateur career,” Sulaimán wrote.

Prior to the post, the boxing president said on Instagram that the WBC was “absolutely against” the proposed fight. He added that he and the organization were working on preventing the fight from taking place.

“I personally called the promoter and he is dealing with the fighter’s father who is making all kinds of threats. I will do everything possible to stop this from happening,” Sulaimán wrote. 

“​​We all thought it was a joke! We will fight to the bitter end to stop this atrocity,” he added at the end of the caption in Spanish. 

The fight was reportedly billed as a Guinness World Record-breaking event that would see the 12-year-old girl take on four rounds at the atom weight level, which is the lightest weight class for a boxing event and contains fighters weighing 102 pounds or less, according to Metro.

In response to the original announcement surrounding the event that was shared on Facebook by Mo’ Boxing, No Problem, several people criticized the fight, with one individual writing that Romina was “way too young” and “the risks are too great at the pro level.”

Another agreed, commenting, “I’m all for phenoms, but this is a no-go.”

Others worried that the preteen could get “serious permanent brain injury” from taking part in the event.

Romina’s father, Isaac “Bamba” Castan, was once a boxer who competed in more than 50 youth amateur events. Romina followed in his footsteps and began boxing at the age of 8, according to Metro.

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Though Romina is no longer making her professional debut this weekend, Sulaimán said in a post on X that she will have “the support of the WBC” to “debut when appropriate.”

One of the youngest boxers to ever make their professional debut was Wilfred Benítez, who did so at the age of 15 in 1958. More recently, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez made his professional boxing debut in Mexico at the age of 15 in 2005.

While some boxers are able to make their professional debut in their teenage years, those living in the U.S. are not able to make their professional debut until they are over the age of 18, according to the USA Boxing website.