Team 412 Boxing has produced fighters who have often outclassed competition in the Pittsburgh area. Looking for a bigger challenge, three of its boxers took their talents south, looking to prove themselves against some of the top young boxers in the country.<\/p>\n
Patrick Germaine, Niko Wilson and D\u2019mir Flemings finished first, second and third in their respective weight classes at the 2026 Golden Gloves of America Junior & Youth Nationals on July 8-11 in Allen, Texas.<\/p>\n
Team 412 fights out of 3rd Ave Boxing Gym and trains its fighters seven days a week. Germaine likes it that way.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Boxing) means a lot. I feel like it\u2019s just comfort,\u201d Germaine said. \u201cI enjoy coming to practice and stuff. And if (I) get a day off, I\u2019ll be like, \u2018Yeah, I miss it.\u2019 And I\u2019ll be eager to come back the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team captain and Allderdice graduate won gold after going undefeated in the youth 143-pound class, with wins over Alabama state champion Juan Valdez in his semifinal match and 20-time national champion Nolan Huntley, who was 115-15, in the final.<\/p>\n
Germaine defeated Huntley in the 2026 USA Boxing National Junior Olympics & Summer Festival in late June in Wichita, Kan., but had to beat him again to claim the title.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody was saying, \u2018Oh, he got lucky, man. He ain\u2019t gonna do that next time. Nolan let him beat him.\u2019 \u2026 I\u2019m gonna show him none of this I do is lucky,\u201d Germaine said. \u201cBut it\u2019s all hard work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI go in there, and I\u2019m like, \u2018No. 1, he\u2019s not touching me. No. 2, I\u2019m gonna hit him, and he\u2019s gonna know I\u2019m there.\u2019 And after that, he\u2019s not going to want to fight the whole fight, which is what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Germaine was USA Boxing\u2019s seventh-ranked youth boxer at 143 pounds entering the competition, but Team 412 coach James Hoy expects Germaine to jump into the top five after the next rankings update.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been coaching 42 years, and I\u2019ve coached high school football, basketball (and) now boxing. He is, without a doubt, the hardest-working kid I\u2019ve ever had, and he is very businesslike in his approach to his training,\u201d Hoy said. \u201cHe is a get-in-early, get-out-and-get-it-done kind of kid, and he also has a very confident demeanor without being boisterous or drawing attention to himself. His fighting draws attention to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilson won the silver medal at 114 pounds. The Allderdice junior started boxing at 9 years old and has been ranked in the top 10 for the last four years. Hoy also believes Wilson will go up a couple of spots when the next rankings update happens.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a great tournament, and he kind of ran into a buzzsaw in the finals,\u201d Hoy said. \u201cHe came home, and he\u2019s committed himself to picking that up and figuring out, \u2018Hey, how do we fight this kind of kid?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the great things about going to tournaments is we get to fight against Hispanic kids, and in USA Boxing, I think it\u2019s like 47% Hispanic. We don\u2019t have that opportunity here in Pittsburgh. There are very few, if any, local Hispanic boxers. So when we get to go to tournaments, especially in the southwest and Texas, California, we get to see really good Hispanic kids, and they have a different style, and it\u2019s not something we\u2019re well familiar with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flemings took bronze in the 119-pound division, losing to the eventual champion in the semifinals.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe comes all the way from Erie,\u201d Hoy said. \u201cAnd he\u2019s a really dedicated kid and a big puncher and a real student of the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoy expects greatness from his boxers, often expressing his goal that they, especially Germaine, can rise to the level needed to participate and succeed in the 2028 Olympic trials like other Team 412 fighters, Sonny Taylor and Trinity Burke, who took part in the 2024 trials.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know who the good kids are. You know who the kids are on the Olympic team,\u201d Hoy said. \u201cYou know what kids are going to be great, and every time we go to a tournament, the good kids always gravitate towards (Germaine). They all come and speak to him, and that says a lot about (him). Great athletes recognize other great athletes. \u2026 As a coach, that makes you know you\u2019re doing the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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