As a boy and teen, Caleb Truax never pictured himself a boxing champ.
Raised by a single mom who struggled to support him, his twin sister and younger brother, Caleb excelled in football and dreamed of an athletic scholarship that provided him an education and a shot at the NFL.
An All-Conference football player at Osseo High School, just northwest of Minneapolis, he walked on at Virginia State University but never played a collegiate snap due to a lingering left knee injury.
Caleb was disappointed but not defeated.
He returned home, enrolling at the University of Minnesota, and he fulfilled his competitive spirit by seeing a Tough Man competition ad in the City Pages and signing up. Though he lost his first fight, Caleb was hooked and started to train as a boxer.
Even then, however, Caleb never pictured himself a boxing champ.
Then, after an illustrious 3 1/2 year amateur boxing career that included the 2006 Upper Midwest Golden Gloves championship and USA Boxing titles for Minnesota and the region, Caleb turned pro in April 2007 — and big boxing dreams started to take shape.
He had some impressive victories to start his career, and he knocked down former undisputed middleweight world champion Jermain Taylor in the ninth round of their 2012 bout. Ultimately, though, Taylor won by unanimous decision.
Caleb was disappointed but not defeated.
He rebounded from that match and impressed one of the sport’s most iconic champions in a non-title bout at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
“I hear he is exciting and he is something that we need for boxing,” Mike Tyson said of Caleb. “e is a breath of fresh air because boxing is in the doldrums right now. I’m looking forward to seeing him.”
In April 2016, Caleb suffered arguably his worst loss, when he was knocked out in the first round by Anthony Dirrell.
Many critics insisted he was done.
They did not know that Caleb was disappointed but not defeated.
He won his next three matches, putting himself in a position to fight for a title on Dec. 9, 2017, against former Olympic champion James DeGale. Caleb aggressively pursued and punished DeGale, convincingly earning a majority decision.
Caleb’s victory was widely hailed the biggest upset of 2017.
The IBF Super Middleweight champion, Caleb Truax has exemplified character, proudly representing his family, his community, his state and even nation with an indomitable spirit and a desire to help and encourage others.