Boxer Pierre-Mickaël Hugues trains with professional boxer Christophe Mendy at Mendez Boxing Gym- Harlem on December 5, 2024 in New York City. Boxer Pierre-Mickael Hugues trains in New York like any other able-bodied athlete in New York -- but has prosthetic legs from below the knee. "Your hands, Pierre! Hit him in the body!" shouts his trainer. Invited to spend two weeks in the US by former French heavyweight Christophe Mendy, 31-year-old Hugues was born with the condition. "I've always seen myself as an able-bodied athlete, with the same passion -- sometimes greater -- to achieve the same result," Hugues said in a soft, determined voice, against the low din of a Harlem boxing gym. Hugues, an accomplished amateur boxer, crossed the Atlantic at the end of November for his first tour to make a name for himself in the US where boxing is king. Because of a lack of funding in his native France, Hugues hopes to find financing for his passion while in the United States and turn professional within two years. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)