(APR 5)  COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, USA -- USA Boxing has announced that Duke Ragan (Cincinnati, OH) and Virginia Fuchs (Kemah, TX) have been named 2017 Under Armour Elite Boxers of the Year. They are leading contenders to represent Team USA at the 2020 Olympics in Japan.

Last year, the 20-year-old Ragan used his stiff jab and ring intelligence to make a major statement in the ring for the first time in International competition. The slick bantamweight (123 lbs.) captured gold at his initial International tournament, the Chemistry Cup in Halle, Germany, before he clinched a ticket to his first World Championships, by way of his bronze-medal winning performance at the 2017 Continental Championships in Honduras.

Ragan's third International medal of 2017 came at the 2017 Elite Men's World Championships, where he won a silver medal, marking the highest placing for an American bantamweight at that prestigious tournament since 1999.

Fuchs, 30, had a perfect 18-0 record in 2017, including 15 unanimous decision victories and one by RSC (referee stopped contest). Highlighted by winning top honors in the flyweight division (112 lbs.) at the 2017 USA Elite National Championships at Salt Lake City, Utah, Virginia also won at the Balkan Tournament, Continental Championships, Feliks Stamm Tournament, and Strandja Tournament. She won gold at all four International tournaments she entered.

A winner at the 2016 Olympic Trials, Fuchs graduated from Louisiana State University in 2011 with a degree in Kinesiology.

Below is a complete list of USA Boxing's 2017 Under Armour Boxer of the Year award winners:

2017 Under Armour Boxer of the Year Awards

Elite Male - Duke Ragan (Cincinnati, OH)

Elite Female - Virginia Fuchs (Kemah, TX)

Youth Male - Angel Martinez (Rockford, IL)

Youth Female - Citlalli Ortiz (Coachella, CA)

Junior Male - Dante Benjamin (Shaker Heights, OH)

Junior Female -- Gabriela Fundora (Coachella, CA)