American professional boxer Duke Ragan (born September 18, 1997) won a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the featherweight event.
As an amateur, Ragan competed in the bantamweight division at the 2017 World Championships and the 2019 Pan American Games, where he won silver medals.
He learned the sport at the Cincinnati Golden Gloves boxing club in the Over-the-Rhine neighbourhood of his city.
Ragan found out in June 2021 that he had made the featherweight division of the Tokyo Olympics, less than a year after turning professional.
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Duke Ragan Defeats D’Angelo Fuentes in Featherweight Boxing Match Saturday in Las Vegas
On the undercard of Teofimo Lopez and Pedro Campa’s super lightweight contest on Saturday in Las Vegas on ESPN+.
Cincinnati native and Western Hills High School alumnus Duke Ragan defeated D’Angelo Fuentes in a featherweight bout.
Ragan moved to 7-0 with the unanimous decision victory over Fuentes, who dropped to 1-7 with the setback.
Ragan, who was cheered on by a big group of relatives from Cincinnati, Ohio, clinched two victories by scores of 59-55 and 58-56.
After his father passed away in December 2017, Ragan delayed his return to professional boxing.
In April, he won by unanimous decision over Fuentes, and in May, he defeated Victorino Gonzalez at Resorts World Las Vegas to maintain his perfect professional record.
Team USA’s Duke Ragan: Fresh Featherweight Pro Going for Gold in Tokyo
Duke Ragan, a featherweight for Team USA, has fought professionally four times (and won each time), and he spoke with Tokyo 2020 about his experiences training in Cincinnati.
Including his thoughts on lighter gloves, ways to improve his defence, and the impact of the Olympics on his sport at a young age.
It’s important to note that the gloves used in professional boxing are vastly different from those used in amateur bouts.
They are more portable, lighter, and revealing than their larger counterparts. Wearing protective clothing is a must if you don’t want to get knocked out cold.
Ragan is one of three professional American boxers in these Tokyo Olympics. He is a quick and tough competitor in the lightning-fast world of the featherweights.
Team USA has never done this before, but they made an exception for Ragan, middleweight Troy Isley, and lightweight Keyshawn Davis.
Conclusion
Due to COVID-19’s postponing of the Olympics by a year, USA Boxing and the competitors reached this agreement.
Ragan, who went pro last year at age 23, said, “I was stunned, truly and surprised,” when he got the message a few weeks before the start of competition that he was good to go for Tokyo.
He reasoned (correctly) that going pro would end whatever chance he had of making the Olympics.
