Alex Leapai


Elise 'Leapai' is a Samoan Australian former professional boxer. His career highlight was a fight against Wladimir Klitschko in 2014, for the WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, The Ring magazine and lineal heavyweight titles.

Early life

Leapai's parents, Faataui and Leitu, moved their family from Laulii, Samoa when he was 7 to New Zealand, where they lived until he was 12. In New Zealand, Leapai attended Owairaka Primary School in Mt Albert and played rugby league for Marist Saints, as did his one-time sparring partner Sonny Bill Williams. Upon moving to Australia, Leapai's family settled in Logan, Queensland. In Logan, Leapai played junior rugby league for Logan Brothers alongside future Australian rugby league and rugby union international Lote Tuqiri. While playing for Brothers, Leapai was offered a scholarship with the National Rugby League side, the North Queensland Cowboys.
Leapai has four brothers, Leati, Stefano and Faatni, who spent four years with the London Broncos in the Super League. His cousin is Australia and Queensland representative Josh Papalii.

Professional career

Alex Leapai defeated Denis Boytsov on 23 November 2013 in Germany. Boytsov was the WBO's mandatory challenger for Wladimir Klitschko, but when Leapai defeated Boytsov, Leapai was named mandatory challenger even though the Boytsov-Leapai bout was not an official elimination bout.
Dan Rafael for ESPN.com reported on 3 February 2014 that "Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko will make his 16th title defense when he faces Alex Leapai, one of his mandatory challengers, on 26 April in at the König-Pilsener-Arena in Oberhausen, Germany, as K2 Promotions announced Monday. The Klitschko and Leapai camps had agreed to a deal several weeks ago, which allowed them to avoid a purse bid, but it has now been signed. Leapai, 34, a native of Samoa living in Australia, came out of nowhere to be appointed as the mandatory challenger by the WBO after scoring a major upset."

Leapai vs. Wladimir Klitschko

Despite the fact that Klitschko possessed an overwhelming advantage over his challenger, the Ukrainian was quoted as saying the bout was "the most important fight of my career" due to the political backdrop of the encounter from a Ukrainian point of view. Early in 2014 Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and consequently, both nations were mobilising for the possibility of war in the short term. Wladimir's brother Vitali Klitschko was preparing to run for the Ukrainian presidency in looming May elections and the 37-year-old title holder admitted boxing was second in his mind to the political upheaval in his homeland. Vitali would be elected Mayor of Kyiv in 2014. Klitschko claimed the spectacle of the fight would be ever important to "boost the morale" of his countrymen.
Former world heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs interrupted a pre-fight press conference in Germany just days before the anticipated bout. Briggs challenged Klitschko for a fight and accused Leapai of being an unworthy opponent for Klitschko.
Leapai was knocked out by Klitschko in the fifth round of a fight scheduled for 12 rounds. Leapai was knocked down barely more than a minute into the bout. Klitschko retained his IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO championship belts and used his height and reach advantage to control the fight with Leapai. Leapai reportedly rattled his opponent once in the fight before Klitschko responded with a flurry of blows that eventually dropped the Australian to the canvas.

Career after world title shot

In his next fight, Leapai fought Malik Scott. Leapai lost the fight via unanimous decision, losing 100–90, 99–91 and 98–92 on the scorecards.
On two weeks notice, Alex Leapai took a fight against former WBO champion Joseph Parker after his deal with Eric Molina fell through during the signing stages. Leapai went on to lose after a tenth-round stoppage. Despite protests from Leapai, the referee Ricky Gonzalez stopped the fight after Parker landed seven straight punches to the head of his opponent.

Personal life

Leapai is married to his high school sweetheart, Theresa, and has six children. Four daughters and two sons.
In 2005, Leapai spent six months in Queensland's Woodford Correctional Centre on a grievous bodily harm charge after attacking two bouncers.
An avid rugby league fan, Leapai supports the Brisbane Broncos. Leapai's inspiration is fellow Samoan heavyweight boxer David Tua.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
44LossJoseph ParkerTKO10, 2:1829 Jun 2019Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island, US
42Draw31–7–4Roger IzonriteiTD3, 2:2613 Dec 2017Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Australia
41Win31–7–3Thomas PeatoTKO3, 2:2614 Oct 2017Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Australia
40Loss30–7–3Manuel CharrUD1022 May 2015Olympic Indoor Arena, Moscow, Russia
39Loss30–6–3Malik ScottUD1031 Oct 2014Logan Metro Sports Centre, Logan City, Australia
38Loss30–5–3Wladimir KlitschkoTKO5, 2:0526 Apr 2014König Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, GermanyFor WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight titles
37Win30–4–3Denis BoytsovUD1023 Nov 2013Stechert Arena, Bamberg, GermanyRetained WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title
36Win29–4–3Felipe RomeroTKO9, 1:159 Aug 2013Hengyang, ChinaRetained WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title
35Win28–4–3Joe LloydKO1, 1:189 May 2013Royal International Convention Centre, Brisbane, Australia
34Win27–4–3Matt HicksTKO1, 2:428 Feb 2013Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia
33Win26–4–3Akmal AslanovTKO5, 1:2721 Dec 2012Zhuzhou Stadium, Zhuzhou, ChinaWon vacant WBO Asia Pacific and WBO Oriental heavyweight titles
32Loss25–4–3Kevin JohnsonTKO9, 2:221 Apr 2012Doomben Racecourse, Brisbane, AustraliaLost IBF Australasian heavyweight title
31Win25–3–3Troy WeidaTKO1, 1:568 Dec 2011The Arena, Brisbane, Australia
30Win24–3–3Evgeny OrlovKO4, 1:3721 Oct 2011Broncos Leagues Club, Brisbane, Australia
29Win23–3–3Okello PeterKO3 17 Apr 2011Jakarta International Expo, Jakarta, IndonesiaWon vacant IBF Australasian heavyweight title
28Win22–3–3Jason BarnettKO1, 2:4729 Jan 2011Gold Coast Convention Centre, Gold Coast, Australia
27Win21–3–3Darnell WilsonUD84 Dec 2010Gold Coast Convention Centre, Gold Coast, Australia
26Win20–3–3Owen BeckTKO6, 2:5012 Aug 2010Southport RSL Club, Gold Coast, Australia
25Win19–3–3Travis WalkerTKO4, 2:5230 Jun 2010Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia
24Win18–3–3Bob MirovicKO1, 2:5729 Apr 2010Gold Coast Convention Centre, Gold Coast, Australia
23Win17–3–3Hiriwa Te RangiTKO1, 1:114 Sep 2009Coolangatta & Tweed Heads Golf Club, Tweed Heads, Australia
22Draw16–3–3Kotatsu TakeharaMD631 Jul 2009Hilton Hotel, Brisbane, Australia
21Win16–3–2Colin WilsonKO8, 2:1119 Jun 2009Southport RSL Club, Gold Coast, AustraliaWon vacant WBO Oriental interim heavyweight title
20Win15–3–2Oscar TalemairaKO1, 0:5627 May 2009Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia
19Win14–3–2Oscar TalemairaKO2, 2:4920 Feb 2009Southport RSL Club, Gold Coast, Australia
18Win13–3–2Pieter CronjeUD1014 Nov 2008Gold Coast Convention Centre, Gold Coast, AustraliaWon vacant WBF Australasian heavyweight title
17Win12–3–2Alipate LiavaKO5 27 Sep 2008Town Hall, Christchurch, New Zealand
16Win11–3–2Moyoyo MensahUD85 Sep 2008Mansfield Tavern, Brisbane, Australia
15Win10–3–2Mohamed AzzaouiKO2, 1:111 Aug 2008Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Australia
14Loss9–3–2Colin WilsonSD1227 Jun 2008Mansfield Tavern, Brisbane, AustraliaLost OPBF heavyweight title
13Win9–2–2Michael KirbyUD1214 Mar 2008Kedron Wavell Services Club, Brisbane, AustraliaRetained OPBF heavyweight title
12Win8–2–2Nathan BriggsKO8, 2:0930 Nov 2007Kedron Wavell Services Club, Brisbane, AustraliaWon vacant OPBF heavyweight title
11Win7–2–2Ofa Pi Bouvalu UluakiahoeiaRTD2, 3:007 Sep 2007Broncos Leagues Club, Brisbane, Australia
10Win6–2–2Jason RetiTKO2, 2:1329 Jun 2007Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Australia
9Win5–2–2Oscar TalemairaKO5, 1:4623 Feb 2007Southport RSL Club, Gold Coast, Australia
8Win4–2–2John SzigetiTKO1, 1:4617 Nov 2006Magic Millions Complex, Gold Coast, Australia
7Win3–2–2Hiriwa Te RangiTKO4, 2:4610 Nov 2006Logan Diggers Club, Logan City, Australia
6Loss2–2–2Baden OuiTKO4, 0:5119 Aug 2005Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Australia
5Win2–1–2Vai ToevaiUD45 Aug 2005Mansfield Tavern, Brisbane, Australia
4Draw1–1–2Nermin SabanovicPTS620 May 2005Broncos Leagues Club, Brisbane, Australia
3Loss1–1–1Yan KulkovUD83 Dec 2004Mansfield Tavern, Brisbane, Australia
2Win1–0–1Danny MorganTKO8, 2:4217 Sep 2004Mansfield Tavern, Brisbane, Australia
1Draw0–0–1Mark de MoriMD630 Jul 2004Broncos Leagues Club, Brisbane, Australia