Lola Tigrato: “I have changed my lifestyle so much. It was party after party. I used to drink. I used to smoke. I quit everything for boxing.”

Lola Tigrato: “I have changed my lifestyle so much. It was party after party. I used to drink. I used to smoke. I quit everything for boxing.”

It’s been a life on the road. A life on the move. For much of her life, her suitcase was her best friend. But now her life is very different. For Lola Tigrato, boxing is now her way of life.

Tigrato was born in Belgium to an Italian family. The 38-year-old left Europe straight after graduating from university. After ten years on the road, hitchhiking around the world across five continents, Tigrato is now based in Auckland, New Zealand. It was at that moment that her life suddenly changed.

“I started boxing when I moved to New Zealand,” Tigrato told me over Zoom. “I started in my thirties. I thought I was crazy to start competing at that age. Usually, people start when they are around fifteen years old, and when they are thirty, they retire.”

The backdrop for our Zoom interview was Papeete, Tahiti. Tigrato had just secured the Oceana title, another sign that her move into boxing is paying off. Tigrato is now targeting even greater things.

“Before I started living in New Zealand, I was travelling the world. It was always an ambition of mine, but I couldn’t commit to boxing because I was always on the go. But at some point, I decided I wanted to do some competitions. So, I needed to find a place where I could settle down, find good training, and focus on boxing. I did that in New Zealand. I joined the best team in the country with many females in the gym. It took me the first year to learn. I had a very good coach. I won the nationals in New Zealand, the Golden Gloves, I started getting the titles, and now the Oceana, and the next goal is the World Championships.”

The previous party life of those teenage years, and the subsequent ten years hitching rides in multiple different countries, has now given way to a life of solitude. The alcohol and the nicotine are no more. Her success has been startling. Entering a sport at an advanced age, and with no background whatsoever as an athlete, makes that success even more impressive.

“When I started, I didn’t even know what a burpee was,” Tigrato told me. “I didn’t run. I had to learn everything. I did a little bit myself when I was travelling. But I have never trained with a team. I was not athletic at all.”

“I really liked it. It was really enjoyable for me,” Tigrato added. “But when I started, I was questioning myself a lot because of my age and being alone. The first team I joined, I was the only girl in the gym at my age. Everyone else in the gym were teenagers. But I had a big role model here in New Zealand. I saw an interview on TV with Geovana Peres, who started boxing when she was 38, and she became a world champion. That really clicked in my head. If she can become a world champion when she is even older than me, then I am on the right path. I ended up joining her team.”

Tigrato is now fifteen fights into her boxing life. A relatively short time in her sport, but the titles are already coming her way. Oceana champion. New Zealand champion. New Zealand Golden Gloves champion. More glitter will surely be added to her resume in the coming years.

The success in her craft has come as a result of sacrifice, and her old life being well and truly left behind.

“It’s a different life,” Tigrato admitted. “I had to change my life so much. It taught me everything about having a healthy life. Eating well. Sleeping well. I had to make it fast because of my age. I have changed my lifestyle so much. It was party after party. I used to drink. I used to smoke. I quit everything for boxing. In my twenties, I could never imagine being a professional athlete. But something in my brain changed.”

The fighting life has seemingly consumed the 38-year-old. “I’m quite attracted to Bare Knuckle, even though it’s scary,” Tigrato says. “I would give that a try.”  

Lola Tigrato knows her time in the sport is somewhat limited. But there are dreams of competing at the upper echelons of the amateur ranks and a desire to test the waters of professional boxing. “I think I have another couple of years to do with amateur boxing, but I think I will look at turning professional. However, my next big goal is to compete at the World Amateur Championships.”