USA Boxing and Under Armour announced today the six boxers awarded Boxer of the Year for their accomplishments in 2017.
2017 Elite Female Boxer of the Year - Virginia Fuchs
Virginia Fuchs’ (Kemah, Texas) 18-0 record in 2017 was one of the most dominating performances in USA Boxing history. Fuchs won gold in all four international tournaments she was entered into, including the Continental Championships. Fuchs’ 18 wins included 15 unanimous decision victories and one RSC. She concluded her impressive year by winning the 2017 Elite National Championships in Salt Lake City, Utah.
2017 Accomplishments:
Balkan Tournament Champion
Continental Championships Champion
Feliks Stamm Tournament Champion
Elite National Champion
Strandja Tournament Champion
2017 Elite Male Boxer of the Year - Duke Ragan
Cincinnati native Duke Ragan made a name for himself in 2017, his first year of international competition. Ragan won gold at his first international tournament, the Chemistry Cup in Halle, Germany, before clinching his ticket to his first World Championships with his bronze medal performance at the 2017 Continental Championships in Honduras. He capped off his year with his third international medal, a silver at the 2017 Elite Men’s World Championships, which was the highest placing American boxer to medal in the Elite Men’s World Championships bantamweight division since 1999.
2017 Accomplishments:
Chemistry Cup Champion
Continental Championships Bronze Medalist
Elite Men’s World Championships Silver Medalist
2017 Youth Female Boxer of the Year - Citlalli Ortiz
2017 will be a year Citlalli Ortiz (Coachella, Calif.) will never forget. Ortiz got her first taste of international competition at the 2017 Women’s Youth World Championship in Guwahati, India. Coming into the competition as an unknown, she did not let that impact her nerves, as she walked away as World Champion. Just a few days after returning from India, Ortiz won her second Youth National Title to earn her spot on the 2018 Youth High Performance team. She also grabbed the Eastern Regional Open Youth welterweight title.
2017 Accomplishments:
Women’s Youth World Champion
Youth National Champion
Eastern Regional Open Champion
2017 Youth Male Boxer of the Year - Angel Martinez
Rockford, Illinois’ Angel Martinez got his first taste of representing Team USA on the international stage in 2017 during a trip to Germany. Martinez fought a hard fight to walk away from the tournament with the silver medal, his first international medal. On American soil, Martinez dominated his opponents, taking the Youth Open title in Charleston, W.Va. before winning his second Youth National Championship in Salt Lake City this past December.
2017 Accomplishments:
Youth Open Champion
Youth National Champion
Bradenburg Cup silver medalist
2017 Junior Female Boxer of the Year - Gabriela Fundora
Gabriela Fundora hails from Coachella, Calif. Fundora completed a sweep of USA Boxing’s national tournaments in 2017, including being named the Outstanding Junior Female Boxer of the tournament in Salt Lake City. The bantamweight’s impressive performance earned her the opportunity to come this year to the Olympic Training Center for her first High Performance Training Camp.
2017 Accomplishments:
Eastern Regional Open Champion
Junior Olympic Champion
Junior Open Champion
Western Regional Open Champion
2017 Junior Male Boxer of the Year - Dante Benjamin
Training under Renard Safo at MLK Premier Civic Boxing Team, Dante Benjamin (Shaker Heights, Ohio) won two national tournaments in 2017 and qualified for the 2017 Junior Olympics. Benjamin grabbed the 2017 Eastern Regional Open junior middleweight title before taking his second Junior Open Championship this past December.
2017 Accomplishments:
Eastern Regional Open Champion
Junior Open Champion
Junior Olympic qualifier