Legacies live on: Young Alaskans from fighting families earn boxing medals at Junior Olympics

Jul. 7—Alaska isn't historically heralded as one of the country's hotbeds for young boxing talent.

However, over the past decade-plus, many of the best young Alaska athletes in the sport have hailed from the Alaska Boxing Academy and blossomed under the tutelage of owner and coach David Carey.

Three more young boxers recently added their names to his growing list of success stories after medaling at the 2025 National Junior Olympics last month.

The tournament was held in Las Vegas from June 14-21. Nisilia Faavale, Rocky Williamson and Analina Henderson each reached their respective podiums and brought home some impressive hardware to go along with a spot on the USA Junior National Team.

"I'm really proud of them," Carey said. "They medaled and the rest of our team did very well too. As of right now, we have four boxers in the top 10 (of their weight class) in the United States. That makes us feel really accomplished coming out of Alaska."

Henderson is a 14-year-old heading into her freshman year at Bartlett High this fall. She has only been boxing for three years and earned a silver medal in the girls 132-pound weight class.

"Two years later, now she's on a junior national team, and that's a big deal for us and shows her focus and determination to be a champion," Carey said.

Henderson is proud to be nationally ranked because of all the hard work she put into her training.

"I used to have zero confidence in myself and now to know that I am literally up there now, it just makes me feel very proud for what I accomplished," Henderson said. "My best fight was my final fight, my hardest fight was actually my first fight because I was very nervous getting up in a ring in front of a whole bunch of people and cameras."

Williamson just turned 15 and is heading into his sophomore year at Bartlett. While he has been boxing since he was a young, he started competing in matches three years ago and earned a silver medal in the boys heavyweight division.

"He's definitely a special talent being a heavyweight," Carey said. "This was his first time going to the Junior Olympics and he fought his way to the finals, and he lost in a close decision to the No. 1 ranked boxer."

Carey thought the fight was close enough that Williamson could've been declared the victor.

"It feels pretty good, I'm just a little disappointed that I didn't get the gold," Williamson said.

Williamson said his toughest fight of the tournament was his semifinals match, when he was going up against the No. 3-ranked boxer in the weight class.

"It was a war and he was 250 pounds, and I'm only 205," he said. "Every punch of his felt so heavy but I got the job done and won that fight."

Being on the Junior Olympics team is a tremendous honor he doesn't take lightly.

"It feels amazing," Williamson said. "I worked so hard, and then I performed well. Now I get to reap the benefits of all that hard work."

Faavale is 17 years old and has been boxing since she was 10. She earned a bronze medal in the girls heavyweight division.

"It was exciting for my first tournament," she said. "I loved the experience and took the loss hard, but we learn from it."

Improving her conditioning is one of her top priorities to address before her next competition, which will be in December.

Faavale admitted to having some self-doubt heading into the Junior Olympics tournament and was surprised by how well she did.

"We have to keep them in the gym, staying focused, staying motivated and staying in shape because any day, they could get a call from USA Boxing to go down to the Olympic Training Center and start training for international competitions," Carey said.

Deep roots in combat sports

All three medalists come from families with strong ties to boxing or mixed martial arts.

Williamson's family is filled with boxers on his father's side, including his grandfather, J. B. Williamson, who held the World Boxing Council light heavyweight title in 1985 and once fought the late George Foreman, in 1989.

"It's awesome, because I know that if he can do it, then I can do it," Williamson said. "I want to be a champion one day and I know it's possible because it's running through my blood."

His grandfather lives in Indianapolis, and it has been three summers since they've seen each other. But Williamson honored his grandfather with his ring entrance before his finals fight and his mom took a video of it.

Before becoming a Junior Olympian, Williamson had already become a two-time Golden Gloves champion and won the Gene Lewis National Invitational Tournament.

Faavale's dad first got her into the sport and was a mixed martial arts fighter who competed in the Alaska Fighting Championships before retiring due to injury. Growing up watching him compete in combat sports inspired her to want to engage in them herself.

"I've grown to love the sport, I love the thrill of it, getting in the ring because it's like anger management," she said.

Both Faavale and her sister began boxing at the same time before her older sibling decided to directly follow in their father's footsteps and took up mixed martial arts as well.

As far as her long-term aspirations in the sport, Faavale wants to become a professional boxer some day but doesn't care too much about trying to make the adult Olympic team. She did say, though, that Claressa Shields is her biggest role model in the sport. Shields is a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

"I love watching her and she's very inspirational," Faavale said.

Henderson's father also used to box, and she has several other relatives who fight.

"Fighting runs in our family," she said. "Almost everybody I know in my family fights or boxes."

Henderson came to the ABA gym with her father and two younger brothers not initially wanting to participate. But after seeing how much fun they were having, she decided to give it a try and fell in love with it after a two-week trial.

"I remember asking him when we got into the car, 'Where are we going?' and he said that it's a surprise and you'll see," she said. "I thought we were going to a restaurant, and he was like, 'Nah we're going to box.' "

In addition to being a Junior Olympian, she is also a two-time Golden Gloves champion and won the Gene Lewis National Invitational Tournament two years in a row in her short time since she started competing.

"It's crazy," Henderson said. "I didn't think in two years I'd be at this point."

Alaskan and proud

Continuing to further boost the reputation of the boxing talent Alaska has to offer is at the forefront of each of their minds before a match.

"Every time I step in the ring, that's what I think of," Faavale said. "I'm representing my state, my family and especially my dad. I want to represent my gym as well."

Williamson was born in California but moved to Alaska when he was just a year old, so he considers himself a lifelong Alaskan.

"Me and the other boxers at the gym are showing that Alaska really has talent here and we're real athletes here," Williamson said.

All of them train between five and six days a week with the goal of improving and putting the 49th state on the map.

"I take huge pride in representing Alaska," Henderson said. "This is why I work hard. I work hard to represent my state and my hometown."