Tammara Thibeault has spent much of her boxing career learning to stay in the moment. So when the biggest moment of her professional career arrived on Aug. 8, that’s exactly what she did.
One round at a time.
It wasn’t until a couple of days later, when the belts were finally in her hands, that it started to sink in.
“Oh my God, I did this,” Thibeault told CBC Sports.
The 29-year-old from Shawinigan, Que., defeated Australia’s Desley Robinson by unanimous decision in Orlando, Fla., with all three judges scoring the fight 100-90.
The win made Thibeault the first Canadian woman to become a unified professional world champion, adding Robinson’s IBF and WBO middleweight titles to the Ring Magazine belt.
She did it in just five professional fights, the fewest of any fighter in history to win a Ring Magazine world championship.
Staying present
“I was so focused on one round at a time,” she said.
For Thibeault, that mindset comes from practice.” To be in the moment and to be present. It’s literally just practice.”
Thibeault’s ability to stay focused helped her through a difficult moment in the fight. She suffered significant bleeding after being caught by a headbutt but maintained control to earn the win.
“I did face some adversity, but I managed to pull through and put on a dominant performance regardless.”
A different path
While continuing her professional career, Thibeault returned to Olympic-style boxing late last year.
She won a Canadian amateur title in November and earned silver at the Boxing World Cup in Guiyang, China, in June.
Watch Canada’s Tammara Thibeault take on China’s Ziyi Bao in the finals at the World Boxing Cup second stage action from Guiyang City, CHN.
She also trained in Belfast alongside national-team boxers from India and New Zealand, giving her high-level sparring against different styles.
“I had different styles, different people in front of me,” she said. “So I had to be adaptable. I had to figure out, I had to find solutions.”
She believes that preparation helped her against Robinson.
Showing people who Tam is
Thibeault has enjoyed the creative freedom that comes with professional boxing.
“The best for me is the outfits,” she said with a laugh.
While representing Canada has always been a source of pride, professional boxing allows her to show more of her personality.
“I get to show people who Tam is and what I represent and what I want people to see of me,” she said.
For the Robinson fight, that included a leg sleeve inspired by Florence Griffith Joyner, the American sprinter known as FloJo.
Thibeault admired Griffith Joyner for breaking barriers while staying true to herself.
“She was one of them that I looked up to,” Thibeault said. “I thought that was a really cool nod to someone who inspired me.”
Los Angeles is still the goal
The world championship hasn’t changed Thibeault’s plans for Los Angeles 2028. She knows she still has to earn her Olympic spot.
“I still have to earn my spot, first of all, at the Olympics,” she said. “And inshallah, I have to earn my spot on that podium in LA.”
The goal comes with unfinished business from Paris, where Thibeault lost her opening bout by split decision and left the 2024 Olympics without a medal.
She returned to the amateur ranks with another Olympic opportunity in mind, but she sees her professional and Olympic careers as separate challenges.
“They’re both boxing, but two distinct spheres,” she said.More than the belts
The reaction to Thibeault’s victory has been another part of the experience she’s still processing.
“I just can’t get over how much support I’ve gotten,” she said.
She said she didn’t realize how much the victory would mean to people across Canada and within the boxing community.
For the young athletes watching her, her message is simple.
“Don’t give up on yourself,” she said. “You’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to stumble. You’re probably going to question yourself, but don’t give up on yourself and trust yourself.”
What comes next?
Her next major event is the Pan American championships in October in Pueblo, Mexico, but before then, she’s giving herself time to recover from the biggest fight of her career.
“That’s not for a couple of months,” she said. “So for now, the next like two weeks or so I’m going to rest. And so that when I’m ready to go, I am feeling fresh and ready to take on another challenge.”
The titles may have changed her place in boxing, but not the way she approaches it. One challenge at a time. One round at a time. And, for Thibeault, there is still plenty left to accomplish.
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