(MAY 13) COLORADO SPRINGS,
Colo. -- The Boxing Task Force (BTF) announced today the 49
quota places, originally to be awarded at the Road to Tokyo
Americas Qualifier, that were awarded to boxers to compete in
the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 this summer. The quota places
included six Team USA boxers, which was based off the BTF
Rankings.
“These six boxers have been staples within our program and have
established themselves amongst the world’s best by their
performances during the past quad,” stated USA Boxing High
Performance Director Matt Johnson. “Now it is time for them to
perform at the world’s biggest stage in Tokyo.”
Representing Team USA at the
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, pending United States Olympic &
Paralympic Committee approval, will be Rashida Ellis (Lynn,
Mass.) Virginia Fuchs (Houston, Texas), Naomi Graham
(Fayetteville, N.C.), Delante Johnson (Cleveland, Ohio), Oshae
Jones (Toledo, Ohio) and Richard Torrez Jr. (Tulare, Calif.).
All six boxers will be competing in their first Olympic Games.
2019 Elite Women’s World
Championships bronze medalist Ellis will compete in the women’s
lightweight (132 lbs./60 kg) division. Ellis won bronze at the
2019 Pan American Games to add to her BTF rankings to solidify
her position in Tokyo as the second highest ranked America’s
boxer and 12th overall in her weight class. Ellis will be
looking to win Team USA’s first women’s lightweight Olympic
medal.
“Qualifying for the Olympics has
been one of my deepest dreams,” mentioned Ellis. “I never doubt
my ability. I have stopped being afraid of what could go wrong
and start being excited about what could go right. So, I embrace
my mistakes and learn from them, as my mistakes have helped me
improve and reach the Olympics. I don’t do easy; I make things
happen. The hard work and dedication with effort and
determination, I can succeed.”
Fuchs will represent Team USA in
the flyweight division (112 lbs./51 kg). The 33-year-old will be
looking to earn USA Boxing its second medal in the women’s
flyweight division since the introduction of the event in London
2012. Fuchs brings an impressive resume to the ring, including a
bronze medal at the 2018 Elite Women’s World Championships and
silver medal from the 2019 Pan American Games, which places her
as the second highest America’s flyweight boxer and 16th overall
in the BTF rankings.
“I have been waiting for this moment for a very long time. I am
so excited I can finally call myself an Olympian,” stated Fuchs.
“With all this world has been through and having to postpone the
Olympics a whole year, I am proud to say I am one of the
participants in what will be known as the most recognized
Olympics in history. I am ready to represent my country in the
most respected way and bring home the gold!”
2019 Pan American Games Graham is the highest seeded America’s
female middleweight (165 lbs./75 kg) boxer in the BTF rankings,
where she currently sits eighth overall. Graham earned points
from her Pan American Games title, as well as her third-place
finish at the 2018 Elite Women’s World Championships and top
five finish at the 2019 edition. Graham, who will become USA
Boxing’s first active female military member to compete in an
Olympic Games, will be in contention to grab Team USA’s third
straight Olympic gold medal in the women’s middleweight
division.
“It feels unreal that I am going to the Olympics,” Graham stated
when talking about earning her place to Tokyo. “I continue to
surprise myself by finding my own limits, and then having the
courage to blow past them.”
Jones will step into the ring in one of the two newly added
women’s weight classes, the welterweight (152 lbs./69 kg)
division. Jones, who made history in 2019 with her gold medal
performance at the Pan American Games, will look to continue
making history by becoming the first Olympic gold medalists in
her weight division. The 23-year-old added valuable points to
her rankings with her top five placement at the 2019 Elite
Women’s World Championships to finish as the top America’s boxer
and seventh in the overall BTF rankings for the welterweight
division to punch her ticket to the Olympics.
“I may only take up one spot, but my one spot represents so
much,” shared Jones. “I’m beyond grateful for the chance to
represent women, African Americans, my small city of Toledo, but
most importantly, my country.”
The second Ohioan to represent Team USA, Johnson, extends the
streak of Cleveland-native boxing Olympians to four, following
in the footsteps of Charles Conwell (2016), Terrell Gausha
(2012) and Raynell Williams (2008). The welterweight (152
lbs./69 kg), who first caught the attention of the boxing world
with his gold medal performance at the 2016 Youth World
Championships, earned his ranking points through his bronze
medal finish at the 2019 Pan American Games and top 16 placement
at the 2019 Elite World Championships. Johnson was the third
highest seeded America’s boxer and 19th overall.
“My struggles are my stripes, and I wear them on my back, so
that the people around me can see that even when you’re living
in a jungle, you can still chase your dreams,” stated Johnson.
“I am not only doing this for my city, but for my two coaches,
Dante Benjamin Sr. and Clint Martin, whom I lost during my
journey to these Games.”
Torrez, the highest ranked super heavyweight (201+ lbs./91+ kg)
boxer from the Americas and 11th overall, earned his place
through his third-place performance at the 2019 Pan American
Games and top five standing at that year’s Elite Men’s World
Championships. Torrez, a former Youth World Championships bronze
medalist, will be the first American boxer to compete in this
weight class since 2012.
“Everyone is happy they’re going to the Olympics, it’s
everyone’s dream, but I need to be there,” said Torrez. “The
fire that was instilled in me before I could even walk, that
drives me to be the best, the fire that has been in my family
for generations, has overflowed. It has set ablaze all my second
options, and it has made ashes of any other possibility besides
that of success.”
Team USA will be guided by USA Boxing National Head Coach Billy
Walsh during these Olympic Games.
“It is fantastic news for our six boxers who have worked
endlessly for the past five years to become an Olympian,” Walsh
shared. “We now focus on the next stage of the process, to
become an Olympic Champion.”
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