From weight loss to the boxing ring: Nicole Bracken chases national championship 

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV)-- What started as a weight-loss journey for Nicole Bracken has now turned into a dream. She’s heading to Houston, Texas, where she’ll compete in the USA Boxing National Amateur Championships. 

Bracken said fighting was never part of the plan. In fact, she had no interest in stepping into the ring when she first started boxing. 

“When I started, I was 60 lbs. heavier, so honestly it was for weight loss, but then I started to run also. I got in the ring one day, and one of the fighters beat me up,” she said.  

Getting beaten up in the ring became a regular part of the learning process for Bracken. But eventually, she realized she couldn’t keep taking the same approach. 

That’s when she decided to become more involved, stay active and start connecting with other women in the boxing community.  

“I started sparring other women from other gyms, and I started going to see professionals and amateurs that I go see. It is a strong community, and you do connect and network a lot,” she added.  

Bracken said the transition from simply working out and focusing on fitness to actively training and looking for fights has changed her in more ways than one. Boxing has helped build her confidence and empowered her both inside and outside the ring. 

But she also knows the sport isn’t easy.  

“Not every day do you feel like going out here and doing this, and not every day do you like putting your miles in, strength train, eating right and get injured, so I tried to push through and persevered through it,” Bracken said.  

Her trainer, Marcus Garza, knows firsthand what boxing can mean to someone. 

Garza said he has loved the sport for as long as he can remember. For a long time, he thought there was nothing more rewarding than winning a fight.  

“Then I found coaching; I found that more rewarding feeling, and when I see my fighters succeed and when I see them being successful in the ring, that’s the most rewarding feeling,” he said.  

Garza said there are plenty of things a coach can teach a fighter — speed, power, precision and technique. But Bracken has something that can’t be taught. 

That’s grit. 

He believes that determination, combined with her boxing skills, has played a major role in Bracken’s success.  

“She will rank number 1 in the nation when we win this tournament, and she will be the first national woman champion, and she will bring back gold to St. Joseph, Missouri,” he said,  

Now, Bracken is also getting closer to another major milestone: a professional debut. 

She is expected to appear in videos for Most Valuable Promotions, or MVP, which promotes professional women’s boxing, with that opportunity coming as early as 2027.