Shelby-Lee Wintle: “Boxing gives me everything. It gives me a purpose, something to focus on.”

Shelby-Lee Wintle: “Boxing gives me everything. It gives me a purpose, something to focus on.”

Shelby-Lee Wintle tried many sports before she settled on boxing. The 25-year-old is dreaming of competing and being on the Olympic podium. There are also dreams of turning professional and winning world titles. The Australian is beyond ambitious. Her talent and resume tell us she has every reason to be.

“I was brought up in a family who worked hard for everything we ever had,” Wintle says of her formative years. “I am very grateful to have such a supportive and loving family who have always supported me to see me succeed in everything I’ve ever done.”

It was perhaps always somewhat inevitable that Wintle would have a life in sports. A varied mixture of sports was tried. “I have always loved sport. I’ve tried a bit of everything; I’ve ridden horses from a young age, danced, rode motorbikes, played soccer, netball, rugby league, and karate and always joined school team sports.”

“I was getting a bit bored of karate, but I loved the combat side of it,” Wintle says of how she first came into the boxing world. “I joined netball to try and get out of karate, but then my dad found out about our local boxing gym. He took me down to have a look, introduced ourselves to the coach, and I’ve never left. I have been with the same coach for ten years, Greg Tindall, at Paterson Boxing Gym ever since.”

The reasons often differ, but there is something uniquely addictive about boxing. For Wintle, it’s all the hard work and the rewards that come with the dedication. “I love how the result is based on how much you put into it. People don’t realise the amount of work you have to put in to get the results, and the only person who can determine that amount of work is YOU.

“Boxing gives me everything. It gives me a purpose, something to focus on. A dream to chase. It’s an outlet. I have an amazing team who I call my family.”

Wintle is now twenty-seven fights into her career. But there are still fleeting thoughts of fight number one. “I can remember parts of it,” Wintle says of that first fight. “I remember being so nervous. I felt my legs were moving, but when I watch the fight back, they were very stationary. Jelly legs.”

Shelby-Lee Wintle is well into her boxing journey now. The ‘jelly legs’ from that debut are long gone. A National Elites Champion in 2024. A Queen of the Ring Champion. A State Champion. There is more. And more will surely follow.

“Becoming the 2024 Australian Champion was a huge moment for myself and my coach, watching all our hard work pay off,” the High School PE teacher adds when I ask what is her biggest achievement to date. “We knew this would open up so many opportunities, with me now currently representing Australia in the Dominican Republic, just for example.

“I want to continue representing Australia successfully internationally and earn my spot in Australia to represent them at the 2025 World Championships in September.”

Wintle is also looking at entering the world of professional boxing once she has exhausted her amateur ambitions. “I’d love to turn professional when I’ve achieved what I can in the amateurs. I’ve got a somewhat pro style, and I love to punch hard. So my coach and I look forward to it one day.”