2010s to Present: Reunited at Last

In the 2010s, both the original Boxer and Boxer II were missing.

But alumni, who had kept fragments that had broken off of Boxer in the 1960s, had started to return some stray parts. The first piece to come home to Pacific was one of Boxer's feet in 2008, followed by an ear around 2011. Don Metzger (Class of 1966) returned the tail in 2012. 

Without a physical Boxer statue present on campus, though, it was hard for students to connect with the old traditions. The Class of 1968 was especially keen on keeping those traditions alive, since Boxer was made Pacific's official mascot during their senior year. On the occasion of their 50th Reunion, several '68 alumni banded together with friends from other classes to fund a new replica: Boxer III. With leadership from alumnus Bruce Bishop (Class of 1968), they tracked down the sculptor who had made Boxer II back in 1983, Pat Costello, and convinced him to take on the job. This time, Costello was given a large set of archival photographs documenting the original Boxer from every angle. He also had access to the fragments that had come back to Pacific since 2008. With these resources, Costello was able to make a new rendition of Boxer that closely matched the original's appearance. (See a video of Pat Costello working on Boxer III in his studio.) Boxer III was unveiled at the Class of 1968's 50th Reunion and Homecoming in 2018.

Soon afterwards, university staff placed the new statue into a custom-made case in the lobby of the main campus library. The alumni had warned that it might be stolen, but staff thought that since the fragments of Boxer -- which had been on display nearby for about ten years -- had never been targeted for theft, the risk was low.

The alumni turned out to be right. In 2019, a small group of Pacific students broke into the case and stole Boxer III in broad daylight, leaving a ransom note behind. But unlike the first time Boxer was stolen from the university in 1899, the library had plenty of cameras watching the area. The students were swiftly convinced to bring Boxer III back, and staff put the statue away into a more secure (but much less visible) location. 

All this activity reinvigorated the search for the original Boxer statue, missing since 1969. Alumni -- some of whom had been closely involved with the Boxer III project --  inquired quietly but persistantly among former students for news of where it might be. 

Eventually, after many disappointments and patient negotiations, these dedicated alumni got Boxer back.

On February 21, 2024, 55 years after it was last seen in public, they offered Boxer to Pacific University's president, Jenny Coyle.  She and a small group of staff and alumni travelled to the home of John and JoAnn Howard, where she saw and held Boxer for the first time. Boxer could finally come home! (See unedited footage of President Coyle's visit to retrieve Boxer.) 

There was a lot of excitement when Boxer's return was announced. Most people had thought that it was lost forever. It seemed miraculous that Boxer was truly back!

Note: The party who held Boxer from 1969-2024 wishes to remain anonymous, and Pacific has not shared their name. 

Within a year of the original Boxer's return, another exciting development occured: an alternate casting of Boxer II was donated to the university. Boxer II had been missing since 2008, but the family of its sculptor, Pat Costello, had been keeping a second cast as a yard ornament for decades. They generously donated this version to Pacific in 2025, allowing all three iterations of Boxer to come together for the first time. 

There is a significant difference in how Boxer will be seen now, versus before its long disappearance. When alumni gave the original statue to President Coyle in 2024, this was the first time that it was in the hands of the university itself for more than a century. Students had held Boxer ever since the first group of sophomores stole it from the chapel of Marsh Hall way back in 1899. Passing through the hands of generations of students, Boxer was fought over as a trophy for decades. It was kept secret and hidden aside from rare "Boxer Tosses" and "Flashes." Students coveted Boxer: but they might never have seen it in person. 

Now, Boxer can be shared with the community more broadly than ever before. Since coming home, it has already been brought out numerous times, with students and alumni having the chance to touch it. The university plans to create a secure, public display soon, where Boxer may be seen by any visitor to the campus.