Joseph Hicks Jr. is a rising star in the world of professional boxing. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Hicks has quickly established himself as one of the most promising prospects in the sport. Hicks began boxing at the age of 7 and quickly showed a natural talent for the sport. He had a successful amateur career, winning multiple national championships and earning a spot on the USA Boxing team.
Hicks’ fighting style is characterized by his speed, agility, and precision. He is known for his lightning-fast jabs and powerful hooks, which he uses to outmaneuver and outstrike his opponents. Off the ring, Hicks is a humble and dedicated athlete. He trains tirelessly, putting in long hours in the gym to perfect his craft. Hicks’ ultimate goal is to become a world champion, and with his skills and determination, he is well on his way to achieving that goal.
Let's delve into the journey of this talented boxer, from his amateur days to his professional career.
Amateur Career and Olympic Aspirations
Hicks has only been boxing for seven years, a relatively short time for an Olympic-level athlete, but he's had a meteoric rise. He went from winning the Michigan Golden Gloves title in 2013 (and again in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019) to becoming the Golden Gloves national champion at middleweight in 2019.
In January, the Lansing resident was named USA Boxing’s representative in the middleweight division (75 kilograms/165 pounds) for the Tokyo Games. But he still needed to work his way through one more qualification tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to officially punch his ticket to Japan.
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The Olympic qualifications for North and South American countries were supposed to start Wednesday in Buenos Aires. Hicks was one of about 30 boxers set to compete in his weight class, with the top four earning a berth to Tokyo.
At Olympic Trials, Hicks faced the top-ranked boxer, Javier Martinez, three times. Martinez won the first match by unanimous decision, sending Hicks to the losers' bracket in the double-elimination tournament. Hicks then worked his way back to the finals, beating the highly rated Troy Isley in the process, to take on Martinez again. Hicks scored a split-decision victory, forcing a final match between the two combatants.
Despite Martinez beating Hicks twice and that No. 1 ranking, USA Boxing coaches chose Hicks for the Olympic team. Hicks lost his first match of 2020 on Jan. 22, but it wasn’t to just anybody - it was to 2017 world champion Oleksandr Khyzhniak on his home turf in Bulgaria. Hicks lost by unanimous decision, but he showed Walsh everything he needed to see.
Hicks has competed in more than 100 bouts lifetime and the wins over Martinez and Isley - when Isley was ranked fifth in the world - went a long way toward putting him on track for the Olympics.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of 2020 qualifying tournaments and eventually the Olympic Games, and when the Olympics were contested in 2021, the formula created by the International Olympic Committee to select his weight class left him out. The Games in Japan went on without him.
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Despite the disappointment of missing the Olympics, Hicks remains motivated and hungry for success in his professional career.
Personal Life and Motivations
Hicks, 26, was born in Grand Rapids - also the hometown of former world champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather - and graduated from Godwin Heights High School, where he played basketball. For two years, his home gym has been Greater Lansing Area Specialized Sports in south Lansing, which is run by his father-in-law, Willie Glass.
It’s family that motivates Hicks, not just in boxing, but in life.
Hicks married his longtime girlfriend, Zoe Glass, on Feb. 22, 10 days before he left Lansing for Olympic training in Colorado Springs. She's a boxer, too, ranked third in the 119-pound weight class in the USA Boxing Elite Women’s Rankings.
Hicks has a 4-year-old daughter, Aerial, who is always a presence when they train together in the ring.
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Hicks’ father died when he was 2, but the elder Hicks, an avid boxing fan, inspired Hicks to step between the ropes. “Boxing is the way I connect with him,” Hicks said. “It’s been a while, but it don't get no better. When I’m in the ring or the gym, I feel his presence. I feel him there. I think it’s him telling me I can do better and me telling myself, for him, that I can do better."
Professional Career
Hicks is gearing up for his second career professional, which will take place in Saturday’s Detroit Brawl at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn. He is one of two Grand Rapids boxers competing in the Salita Promotions card since Joshua Pagan, also of Grand Rapids, will be participating in his second career professional fight.
Hicks and Pagan also fought on the same card on Jan. 28 in their pro debuts, also in Dearborn, and both fighters earned victories via knockouts. Pagan will be battling Christian Danilo Guido of Rome, Italy, in a four-round lightweight bout Saturday, while Hicks will take on Justin Baesman of Pittsburg, Calif., in a six-round middleweight contest.
Hicks came out victorious when he faced Antonio Todd at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan on Saturday, June 3.
A pair of rising stars in the Salita Promotions’ stable are set to make their ring returns on Friday, September 8 as Michigan-born fighters Joseph Hicks Jr.
Unbeaten Joseph Hicks Jr faces Ramses Agaton on Saturday, July 15 at Masonic Temple in Detroit, MI. The pair squares off in the scheduled for six rounds bout at super middleweight.
Split-T Management fighters Ardreal Holmes Jr. and Joseph Hicks Jr. are making waves in the boxing world.
Event promoter Dmitriy Salita said his goal is to bring a card featuring Hicks and Pagan to Grand Rapids later in 2022. Salita fought on the undercard of a Floyd Mayweather fight in Grand Rapids at Van Andel Arena in 2003.
Hicks (12-0, 8 KOs)-an unbeaten junior middleweight from Grand Rapids, Michigan-scored a seventh-round stoppage of second-generation boxer Keon Papillion (10-1-1, 7 KOs). Their battle of undefeated prospects aired on DAZN in support of Shields’ third divisional undisputed championship haul.
USA OLYMPIC CAPTAIN JOE HICKS JR TALKS ABOUT HIS NEXT FIGHT IN DETROIT
Controversies and Challenges
The Ring has confirmed that Joseph Hicks and Skylar Lacy also produced positive post-fight drug tests from the Feb. 2 show that saw Shields defeat Danielle Perkins to become undisputed heavyweight champion. Both boxers joined Shields on the commission’s indefinite suspension list from drug testing results that night at Dort Financial Center in Shields’ hometown of Flint, Michigan.
The Ring has confirmed that Hicks also tested positive for low thresholds of marijuana, similarly from a mouth swab. Like Shields, Hicks’ urine samples all came back negative.
Representatives from the Michigan Unarmed Combat Commission (MUCC) claimed that “Ms. Shields’ conduct as a licensed professional boxer constitutes an imminent threat to the integrity of professional boxing, the public interest, and welfare and safety of professional athletes.”
A second positive test for low thresholds of marijuana further support that claim, as well as point out the flaws with MUCC’s testing. It is believed that Shields and Hicks were exposed to secondhand smoke while on the arena floor after their respective fights, which would explain the immediate post-fight test result from the oral swab.
VADA long ago ceased testing for cannabinoids, nor does the World Boxing Council (WBC) recognize the recreational drug as a “performance enhancing” substance. WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) tests for the substance in-competition, the code which was followed by MUCC save for the mouth swabs which is not part of standard testing.
Conclusion
Joseph Hicks Jr. is an athlete with a promising future. He is an inspiration to many, and his story is a testament to the power of hard work, dedication, and perseverance.