American Morelle McCane endured death of her brother during long road to Olympics

Morelle “Mo’’ McCane, a member of the U.S. Olympic boxing team, wiped a tear from the corner of her left eye.

She was talking about her struggles, including the death of her youngest sibling, brother Greg, who drowned in 2013 at the age of 15.

He saw her first boxing match before he died, McCane said.

"It fueled the fire in me because he was so happy,'' McCane, 29, told USA TODAY Sports of losing her brother. "We used to practice in the kitchen and now I'm on an Olympic stage. It is crazy to me. I want to cry.

“But yeah, that's beautiful through tragedy. You just have to keep going because life doesn't stop for people. Just because something happens don't mean you have to give up or give in. It is time to push forward. Every day we're fighting.’’

She has fought her way to the Paris Olympics and is emerging as a celebrity of sorts thanks to her talent, charisma, and catchy nickname.

Million Dollar Mo.

She is 38-14 with five knockouts. An alternate on the U.S. team for the Tokyo Games in 2021, now she is a contender for a medal at the women's 145.5-pound division.

"It's my time to shine, baby,'' McCane said.

'Fight like a girl isn't an insult'

McCane was 17 when she drove her niece and nephew to an outdoor boxing facility and got lured into the ring.

Soon she was hooked. One problem: There were no other female fighters, so she sparred with the boys.

One day, she arrived home with her face bruised and her right eye discolored, said her mother, Jocelyn McCane, who recalled marching to the facility and tracking down the head coach.

“I went up there and I stood in his face and I said, ‘She’s a girl.’ He said, ‘No, Ma, she's a fighter,’" Jocelyn said. “And that's when they hit me. I said, 'Okay, I got to let it go.'"

“They (the boys) didn't have any mercy," Jocelyn said. "They fought her like a fighter and I guess that's what got her where she is."

Morelle continued to spar against the boys, and she climbed the ranks fighting girls.

She was a champion at the national Golden Gloves in 2018, 2019 and 2021. Won titles at USA Boxing Elite National Championships in 2021 and 2022. And qualified for the Paris Olympics when she won a silver medal at the 2023 Pan American Games.

“Fight like a girl isn’t an insult,’’ Morelle McCane said at a public appearance in Cleveland. “It’s a statement of empowerment. …I’m here to change the narrative.’’

By any means possible

Noel Salwan, a former boxer, used to take the young prospects in Cleveland to a strength-and-conditioning morning meetup. There, Salwan said, he once found McCane asleep in her car.

“I was like, 'Why are you sleeping? You just get up?'" Salwan recalled. “And she's like, 'No, I'm coming (from a) night shift.

"And I was like, ‘Well, you probably shouldn't come to this. You should be rested before you do strength and conditioning.’ She's like, ‘No, no, I'm straight. I went home and slept for a couple hours,’ and then she, she smoked all the dudes. She smoked all the boys that day. So I was like, Hey, I would've never guessed (that) you could do (a) night shift and then smoke everybody.’’

The pursuit of boxing did not interfere with her pursuit of education. She graduated from Cuyahoga (Ohio) Community College and parlayed that into a job she juggled with boxing.

In 2019, she was selected as an alternate to the U.S. Olympic team that competed at the Tokyo Games in 2021. She earned a spot on the team in October when she won a silver medal at the Pan American Games – but it was no reprieve.

She said she continued working food delivery and an online job before she headed to Colorado Springs to train with her new teammates.

“By any means possible,’’ she said of paying the bills and pursuing her boxing career.

'Oh, we've got you'

In January, McCane started a GoFundMe. The hope was to raise money so her family could watch her in Paris.

The amount raised was almost $12,000, well shy of her goal of $50,000 she thought she'd need. However, in March, McCane and her story came to the attention of Cleveland mayor Justin Bibb, city council members and prominent members of the Black community such as Connie Hill-Johnson, who works with the Cleveland Black Equity and Humanity Fund. Hill-Johnson said she and her husband met in person with the boxer.

“Within 60 seconds, we said, ‘Oh, we've got you,’" Hill-Johnson remembered. “I am serious."

“Immediately fell in love with her," Hill-Johnson said. "I’m a huge sports fan, but I can't tell you I know a whole lot about boxing. But as she shared her story and how she got started and just her confidence that, I'm going for the gold this time and just this self-assuredness, not cockiness at all.’’

McCane now will be joined in Paris by her mother, two of her siblings, a niece a nephew, her fiancé and coach Marlon Davis, one of her longtime coaches thanks to the fundraising efforts. Enough money has been raised to cover the cost of airfare, hotels, food, ground transportation and tickets for the boxing competition.

(McCane's mother said she also has sold Eiffel Tower keychains to raise extra money and recently bought "some new stuff" for her grandchildren. "You can't wear Cleveland underwear in Paris,'' Jocelyn explained. "You wear new underwear in Paris.'')

“I love my city,’’ Morelle said during a public appearance in Cleveland, referring the support she's received. “They love me.’’

They will be with her in spirit at the Olympics, as will someone else: Greg.

The 12th anniversary of his death was July 16.

"I have his picture with me,'' Morelle said recently, ''and he's going to be on the plane to Paris.''

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: American Morelle McCane endured death of her brother during long road to Olympics