At a gym in Fairfax, Virginia, Devon Palermo is training people and blazing the trail for a new sport: adaptive boxing. Palermo and his fighters have one dream: make wheelchair boxing the next Paralympic sport. For this to happen, USA Boxing - the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing - first need to declare it a sport before adding it to the program. "We want to do things at the most highest standards that there is and for that right now is USA Boxing," Palermo tells AFPTV. The 44-year-old coach submitted earlier this fall a presentation of adaptive boxing to USA Boxing, following a first-ever competitive adaptive boxing match between two female wheelchair users earlier this fall. Joanna Bonilla, one of the two fighters who took part in the demonstration last September, says she is "excited to see this sport evolve to more, to outside of this gym." It's crystal clear for the 39-year-old fighter: adaptive boxing needs to be at the Paralympics. "Is it going to be a long road? Maybe, but that’s what we’re here for, that’s what this club is determined to be, trailblazers," says the 39-year-old fighter before heading to the ring. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES ARRANGED IN SEQUENCES