Virginia Fuchs’ Comeback: Virginia (Houston, Texas), or Ginny as she is known by many, won the 2016 Olympic Trials for Boxing but missed qualifying to compete in Rio. Still named team captain, Fuchs attended the 2016 Games as a training partner. Not letting this disappoint her, she continued training with Tokyo 2020 in mind. In 2017, Ginny went undefeated, 18-0, and won 4 international gold medals, and then won bronze a year later that elite women’s world championships. Looking to 2019, Ginny was ready to have another successful year. However, her OCD, which she was diagnosed with in middle school, began to act up again, leading her to check into a rehabilitation center for March 2019. Once completed, Ginny returned to the ring in April, winning the 2019 Pan American Games Qualifier and silver medal at the 2019 Pan American Games. Fuchs continued her winning ways by taking gold at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Boxing and 2020 Strandja Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Naomi Graham: USA Boxing has had many boxers come with a military background. However, Naomi Graham (Fayetteville, North Carolina), 2018 elite women’s world championships bronze medalist and 2019 Pan American Games gold medalist, could become the first female to serve in the military and represent Team USA in the Olympic Games in boxing. The staff sergeant recently re-enlisted in June 2019. Graham, who is a member of the Army’s World Class Athlete Program joined the Army after spending some time homeless in her home state and was able to work her way onto the WCAP’s boxing team, and shortly after Team USA. No longer in the shadow of Shields, Graham has made a name for herself internationally, winning seven international medals since 2018, including gold at the 2019 Pan American Games and bronze at the 2018 Elite Women’s World Championships.
Putting Career Goals on Hold for Darius Fulghum:
Darius Fulghum (Houston, Texas) began boxing in 2015, following a high school wrestling career. Fulghum made a quick rise to the top after being a surprise eight-seed winner at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Boxing, which surprised many, as he was fairly unknown. Darius himself says he was unknown, as he did not attend a lot of national tournaments prior to 2019, since he was working on getting his nursing degree. Fulghum graduated college in May 2019 and won the trials in December to earn a place onto USA Boxing’s Olympic Qualification Team. He now is putting his goals outside the ring on hold, with hopes of qualifying and medaling in Tokyo before returning to nursing.