Local boxer Jacob Cox fighting for his dream

By Sam Ojeda
Sports Editor

Jacob Cox’s rise in love for boxing began at an early age. Cox has been around boxing since he was young. Growing up, he lived in the apartment complex down the street from the new boxing academy that had recently opened.

Cox is a local Reno County boxer who competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in December. Cox grew up down the street from the local boxing academy in Hutchinson. Cox debuted in boxing as an amateur fighter in 2022 and is looking at possibly taking the step to become a pro soon.

Cox’s rise in love for boxing began at an early age. “I have always been a fighter,” he said. “One of my earliest memories is getting into fights with my older brother.” As he was growing up living in his apartment complex, he seemed to always be over there, “I found myself in there, training to become a fighter,” he said.

Over the years, his growth in boxing has been immense. Cox’s head trainer, Richard Gadbury, has seen Cox’s growth in his time as a trainer. 

Gadbury has been coaching Cox for three and a half years and has seen many steps up from the young boxer.

“His competitive nature has come a long way,” he said. “He realized it was different than he thought but also something he could be good at.”

Reno County’s support of Cox has been felt by him and his team. His first fight was a national Golden Gloves tournament and the people of Reno County were behind him the whole way.

“I got a bunch of support from the town and the community,” Cox said. “When you get into the ring and feel the whole city behind you, it is a crazy feeling.”

Cox completed a first-round exit at his first Olympic trials in December. While he was disappointed, it has only fueled his motivation more.

“It was a blessing and an honor to compete, but it was a step in building my professional career,” Cox said. 

Even with competing in the Olympic trials, Jacob has not changed who he is.

“Even in the world of criticism and social media Jacob has remained humble,” Gadbury said. “As his coach and someone who spends a lot of time with him, he does an amazing job trying to stay humble.” 

The next step in his career is a jump to professional boxing and Cox said he wants to make that jump.

“This is still amateur boxing, and I want to make a good professional career so I plan to build everything towards that,” Cox said. 

He recently won the Kansas State Gold Gloves for the second time and has a regional fight coming up in March. He hopes to make the national tournament in Detroit and compete in the Junior Olympics in June. Cox said he thinks that if all goes well with those tournaments he will try to go professional after that.

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