Ginny Fuchs: “Life happens, it doesn’t always go the way you planned, so I’m just trying to figure it out, make the best of it, and hopefully, get to where I want to be.”

Ginny Fuchs: “Life happens, it doesn’t always go the way you planned, so I’m just trying to figure it out, make the best of it, and hopefully, get to where I want to be.”

By Matt Elliott

Since the introduction of Women’s boxing into the Olympic Games in 2012, we have seen a meteoric rise in the sport’s popularity. The hard work and dedication of early trailblazers such as Christy Martin and Jane Couch helped pave the way for modern greats like Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, who gratefully accepted the baton, inspiring future generations and playing a vital role in ensuring female fights have become a regular fixture on the boxing schedule, from sold-out arenas to small hall shows.

The role of the Olympics has also remained of huge importance. We have seen many of today’s champions turn professional via that route, and of the class of Tokyo 2020, Lauren Price, Skye Nicolson, Karriss Artingstall and Caroline Dubois, amongst others, are now climbing their way through the ranks, hoping to achieve their ultimate dream of lifting a world title.

In stark contrast, Ginny Fuchs, a member of the 2020 USA team and captain of the 2016 team, despite not qualifying for Rio, is currently considering her future in the sport, having become frustrated by a lengthy period of inactivity which saw her fight just the once last year, and a total of three times since turning professional in late 2021. As I caught up with her via Zoom this past week, I asked Fuchs about the last twelve months and how difficult they had been.

“The whole period has been very frustrating. I didn’t plan for this when I turned pro, I figured I’d get signed right away and be fighting at least five times a year, and that I’d be set up for a world title by now, so none of this was in my plans. I didn’t have a plan B, so I am struggling financially right now, and I’ve had to come to terms with the situation. I can’t rely on my manager to get me fights, so I am reaching out to anyone I can, any promoter, whether it’s a big or small show, and part of the problem is a lot of girls have backed out on me because I’m a high risk, low reward fight. When I fight someone it’s not for a belt, so a lot of people are hesitant to fight me I think, because they don’t want to take the loss, and maybe the money is not worth it, because my purse is not up there yet. So yeah, being a female boxer in the boxing world, it’s just hard, regardless of my amateur background.” 

The one fight that Fuchs did have last year was a routine points victory over Indeya Smith back in June. There were supposed to be other outings, but four planned fights all fell through, with Fuchs explaining the reasons she was given for the cancellations.

“One card fell through entirely, but for the other three, the girls backed out. Two of those were last minute, and they couldn’t find replacements. They were on small shows, so it wasn’t a big deal, but I was supposed to be on the Regis Prograis and Devin Haney undercard. They found me an opponent nine weeks out and then she withdrew pretty soon after, and they told me they couldn’t find a replacement. This would have been around seven or eight weeks away from fight night and they can’t find me an opponent and tell me they can no longer fit me on the card. The business of boxing is hard.”

Fuchs is not alone in being an American female boxer who has struggled to get the recognition she feels her ability deserves and who has suffered from inactivity as a result. Even those well-known names, such as her good friends Mikaela Mayer and Claressa Shields, have found that more lucrative opportunities exist within the UK, or with promoters such as Matchroom and Boxxer, who have invested time and money in growing their stable of female fighters, whilst their counterparts in America have been slower on the uptake. I asked Fuchs whether this was something that resonated with her.

“In America, boxing is competing against the NFL, NBA, and MLB, and that’s what the majority of people are watching. The US promoters just think that females aren’t selling enough tickets or bringing enough eyeballs, so they think why are we going to invest money if it’s not going to make us money in return? I know Top Rank, whilst they have Mikaela and Seniesa Estrada, they are still not sure about bringing on a lot of girls; they are kind of old school in that regard. I have talked with Matchroom and I’m not sure why they haven’t signed me yet, but they have a big stable and of course, they don’t want me to fight one of their girls because it would be a big risk. I also spoke with Boxxer, but at the time they were focused on getting fighters domestically and not from abroad. Because I’m thirty-five years old, maybe the top promoters are hesitant to sign me, but females peak later than males do, so if they can see me fight more regularly, I think that would change, but the problem is getting those fights, so it’s a vicious cycle.”

With the age factor, and with Fuchs not fighting as regularly as she had hoped, I wondered whether she had any regrets about waiting for those Tokyo Olympics, and not seizing the opportunity to turn professional back in 2016.

“I was about to. I talked to my coach about it, and we had a long conversation, but my ultimate goal was to make it to the Olympics and we both felt that being an Olympian might help me with my pro career, to get the fights and make more money. So that’s why we decided, let’s go for Tokyo, but it hasn’t turned out the way we planned, so sometimes I do think, I should’ve turned over earlier and I’d probably be better off, but then I hate to look back and think I should’ve done this, or wish I’d done that, because I am an Olympian, and that was my goal, so at least I’ve achieved that, so I cant say it was a bad decision. Life happens, it doesn’t always go the way you planned, so I’m just trying to figure it out, make the best of it, and hopefully get to where I want to be.”

One point that Fuchs kept coming back to throughout our chat was the financial pressure of not fighting regularly. It is easy to forget that boxers only get paid when they fight, and when they prepare for fights that are promised but fail to materialise, they incur costs throughout their camp, only to see no return at the end. To make ends meet, Fuchs works as a personal trainer, supporting clients who are primarily focused on improving their fitness and getting into better shape, which aligns with her need to stay in the gym as she waits for her opportunity to return to the ring. Despite this, I wondered if these pressures had led Fuchs to the point where she has ever considered turning her back on the sport.

“I’ve gotten to the point, especially last year, where I’m not making any money and living paycheck to paycheck, and I’m thirty-five years old and thinking I can’t keep doing this, but it’s so hard for me to be thinking about moving on because I’m still in my prime and I know I can be a world champion if I get the opportunity. So, it’s been a battle of holding out for a little longer, being patient and then thinking no, I can’t be patient anymore, I’ve got to start some kind of other career, save up and get a house, and thinking I can’t keep doing this until I’m forty. So that is a battle I have every day, to be honest.”

One area of her life that Fuchs has been incredibly open about, is her battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) which was first diagnosed in her teenage years, and which impacts her day-to-day life. In previous interviews, Fuchs talked about the importance of regular therapy sessions but noted the sometimes prohibitive costs involved. With her finances impacted by the lack of in-ring opportunities, does this mean that sacrifices have needed to be made elsewhere?

“I haven’t seen my therapist in over a year and a half, or done any kind of therapy, because for one I don’t have health insurance, and therapy is expensive, so I just can’t afford it right now. I do stuff on my own to work on it every day, but if I was able to work with an expert then I would most likely have it at a more manageable state in my life right now, but because I haven’t, I am still struggling with it day to day. A lot of my finances go towards feeding my OCD as well, and what I mean by that is I buy a lot of latex gloves, I go through a lot of cleaning supplies, and a lot of paper goods and I need that stuff to feed my OCD, to keep cleaning and washing and in turn keep my anxiety down. So, my finances go towards that, because I can buy a lot of that stuff every day, so that has an impact, but to help with it I need to go for treatment, but to go to treatment I need that money that I don’t have right now. It’s part of that vicious cycle of, should I continue boxing, or do I focus on my life, stay put or just move on.” 

As she looks ahead to the remainder of 2024, Fuchs admits that whilst she would ideally fight five or six times, but after the disappointment of last year she would be content with three outings and building some momentum. In the meantime, she concluded our chat by revealing that she had recently agreed to join the Team Combat League, which is boxing’s first squad-based format, and enters its second season next month. Fuchs will compete for the Houston Hitmen and explains the concept and how the opportunity came about.

“The first season ran last year, and they have formed a Houston team for the 2nd season. The gym where I go to spar and work with my clients, is where they are building a team and I know the coaches, so they told me about it and said they would like me to be on the team, and I was like, well I’m having difficulty getting a fight, so why not. It’s easy money and if the opportunity for a fight comes about, I can still take that. Our first match is on March 28th against a team from Washington (DC Destroyers) and then the championship game I believe is in London. There are two weight classes for women (126lbs and 147lbs) six for men and we fight a round each, every week for twelve weeks, so it’s not that brutal. It’s better than sitting around and waiting for a fight.”