Adonis Frazier brings Minneapolis boxing pedigree to Paris Olympics

One Minnesotan headed to the Paris Olympics might never appear on camera.

That fits his style.

Adonis Frazier, the fitness director at the famed Minneapolis gym that produced WBA welterweight champion Jamal James, is serving as an assistant coach on the USA boxing team.

On the phone from the USA’s training camp in Saarbrucken, Germany, Frazier pauses while a few of his cohorts walked by, loudly commenting on the “S” pendant he wears.

“It’s supposed to represent Superman,” he said. “But sometimes I think it stands for ‘Stress.’”

The Frazier family tends to bite off as much as it can chew. Adonis’ father, Sankara, is the founder, executive director and head coach at the Circle of Discipline gym, which uses boxing to teach life skills, and engages in other forms of community service.

Sankara coaches James, the former champion who is trying to get another shot at a title.

“Jamal is still working at the Circle, still giving back,” Adonis said. “My father always told us, I don’t care if you guys become champion of the world, if I get a sense you’re not giving back, I’m not dealing with you.”

Adonis is a former boxer whose career was altered by a car accident. He, like his father, went into coaching, and now he states as his goal bringing the USA its first men’s boxing gold since 2004 and first women’s gold since 2016.

“I’ve been a part of Team USA since 2017 and worked with the youth team and with the elites,” Adonis said. “We’ve been to the Pan Ams, the Netherlands, Thailand, Italy, Columbia, Guadalajara. I’ve been out to Colorado Springs quite a few times working with the U.S. team. We’ve done a lot of traveling, we just haven’t said much about it.”

That’s boxing’s lot in the modern sports world — every shred of attention must be earned. James recently threw out the first pitch at a Twins game, and the people at the Circle were surprised that it went unmentioned. They’re also proud of three young boxers from their gym who have made it to national silver and golden gloves tournaments — Luis Ortiz, Demarcus Murphy and Stevie Gomez.

The COD also runs a training camp in Barnum, Minn. that serves children, and which has received support from the Armory Foundation and MEI Total Elevator Solutions.

“I was hesitant about taking on Olympic coaching, because making the Circle great is always our family’s primary objective,” Adonis said. “But my whole family — my mother, my wife, my father, everybody — were like ‘Hey, man, go do it.’ It’s part of the legacy of the Circle and everything else in the Frazier name. So I thought, let’s go ahead and do this.’”

That legacy is growing. James won a title. The Fraziers are renowned coaches and role models. Former North High standout Omar Brown played safety at Nebraska and signed with the Denver Broncos. “He’s one of our cousins and he grew up in the Circle, as well,” Adonis said.

Adonis’ son, Dasan, is a popular social media influencer and actor. “Which is funny, because when I was growing up, you never wanted people to know what you were doing,” Adonis said. “I don’t get social media, but he does. He just had his first role call with Tyler Perry. He’s going to meet me in Paris.”

Adonis’ daughter, Nia, boxes, and another product of the Circle, J.T. Baker, attended Cornell and works for J.P. Morgan.

Jamal James is 35, and still looking for high-level fights. Adonis said he had to pass on a couple of opportunities recently when Sankara was ill, but that “at 35, these days, he still has time.” Boxing may never return to its glory years, but the Fraziers have proved that it has its place, at least in Minneapolis.

When Adonis was coaching his daughter in a national tournament, he took a picture of her, and later saw a motto on a shirt behind her.

“It said, ‘Once you try boxing, everything else is easy,’” Adonis said. “I love that. My youngest son is fighting now. We’ve got five generations of fighters. I’m in Germany today because of the drive that my father instilled in me.

“My wife works at the Circle. My mother’s there. My father’s there. Everybody’s putting in the work, and we’re working with The Link.”

The Link, a charitable organization, was founded in 1991 by Vikings Jim Marshall and Oscar Reed.

Asked his goals for Paris, Adonis said, “I would say ‘Make history,’ but I think it’s important to say ‘Make history in a positive way.’ That’s the kind of history we’re after.”