<p>The Terme Boxer, a magnificent bronze statue of a seated pugilist excavated in 1885, is considered one of the greatest works of Hellenistic art to have survived from antiquity. This paper seeks to account for the construction of the now dominant interpretation of the Terme Boxer as an unquestionable icon of victory. It argues that the statue’s appropriation by the Italian fascist regime as a symbol of a determined struggle to ultimate victory was particularly influential in shaping the modern discourse surrounding this statue of a bleeding Boxer. Other possible interpretations were discounted. A victorious framing was also later propagated by the Olympic movement especially through the 1960s Rome Olympics. There publicity aligned the statue with Olympic gold. This association was carried forward by later art exhibitions in the Olympic years. Although the statue has none of the attributes of a Greek victor statue, the Terme Boxer came to enjoy public recognition as a victor statue. This was due, in large measure, to the authority of exhibition catalogs and attendant exhibition publicity. In traveling exhibitions in Italy and abroad, the Terme Boxer was consistently associated with images of athletic victory. Consequently, through the Internet and social media, the Terme Boxer became further heroized. Today, the Terme Boxer enjoys a victorious afterlife as an icon of the sport.</p>