Washington state boxer qualifies to represent Team USA at 2024 Olympics

TACOMA, Wash. — In a small Spanaway garage, an Olympian is being forged. Dedrick Crocklem, 19, aims to make his mark in the world of boxing by competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Earlier this month, Crocklem qualified for Team USA at the U.S. Olympic Boxing Trials, and will head to Colorado to continue his training.

He said competing in the Olympics is a lifelong dream, and that he was excited when he learned that he made Team USA. “It felt good to go to the Olympic trials and compete against the best of the best, knowing that I already said I was the best, and really showing it and proving it. It means the world,” he said.

“It’s a totally different game than when I was a youth ... Fighting grown men, fighting without headgear, it’s another step to something bigger when I do get to the pros. I’m just ready, I’m eager to go, I’m ready to go.” Crocklem moved to Tacoma in 2009 from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when he was 3 years old.

He said his uncle later introduced him to boxing as a way to keep out of trouble. Crocklem’s mother agreed to the hobby — as long as he improved and maintained his grades. “One day on a Saturday at 7 a.m., he woke me up, he took me to a gym, we walked over there, and scanned it out. I went back home, told my Mom the same day, 'I really want to do this,'" he recalled.

“I started reading more and went right back to the gym, and they got me signed up.” Crocklem made his boxing debut in 2015, and holds an amateur record of 156 wins and 13 losses. Since then, he’s competed and placed in the Youth World Championships, USA Boxing Summer Festival, and the USA Boxing Elite National Championships.

But Crocklem said his passion for the sport has only grown since he started. Before heading to Paris, Crocklem will go to Italy for the World Qualification Tournament. The tournament begins in February, and Crocklem is focused on securing his spot in the lightweight division. “I’m always working, I’m always watching film, doing something to get better,” he said.

"Even outside the ring, I’m always training, I’m always looking for different things to add to my style, and what I can fix in my game.” Coach Jason Hamilton said that determination to improve is what sets Crocklem apart. “During the pandemic when everything was shut down and all the gyms were closed, I would see Dedrick on social media, still training,” he said.

“I would invite all the kids to come to the gym and work out, and a couple kids would show, but Dedrick was the one that came every day.” Hamilton also said Crocklem’s skill level puts him above the competition. “Dedrick is smarter than everybody as far as the ring IQ, he knows when to make the adjustments, how to make the adjustments, and what adjustments to make,” he said.

“Dedrick knows that to throw, when to throw it, and why he’s throwing it. His ring IQ is what separates him from a lot of these boxers.” Now, Crocklem hopes to follow in the footsteps of “Sugar” Ray Seales, and Leo "The Lion" Randolph, and bring a gold medal back home to Tacoma. But he knows that if he wants to bring the gold back to Tacoma, he’ll have to put in the work.

“I trained too hard for this moment, I worked too hard for this moment, sacrificed too much. So, no one can out work me, no one can out beat me,” he said. “It’s a long journey, and it ain’t over with yet.”.