BROOKLYN (August 26, 2024) – Promising boxing prospect “Iron” Fei Faiva (6-0-1, 4 KOs) has taken a circuitous route from her native Samoa to Brooklyn in pursuit of her prizefighting career. The 22-year-old lightweight is preparing to return to the ring next month in Georgia to fight on her largest platform to date.
Samoa, perhaps, is best known in sports for producing rugby players, linemen in football and, of course, pro wrestlers. Not many elite boxers other than David Tua and Jimmy Thunder. Female boxers in Samoa are unheard of, at least until now, because Faiva is a legitimate diamond in the rough with tremendous upside.
Faiva left Samoa at the age of nine to resettle in the United States. First, in Arkansas for a year, and then for two years in Memphis, where she started boxing at the age of 12.
“Boxing isn’t popular in Samoa, but my grandfather was a boxing fan,” Faiva explained. “I was getting into too many fights in the neighborhood and my grandfather thought that I should get into boxing. I gave it a try. Mike Tyson was his favorite fighter, and he became mine, too. I spent eight years in Memphis, but I couldn’t get sparring there. I was 10-3 as an amateur but it was hard for me to get into tournaments. My coach, George Young, was trained by Teddy Atlas and he felt that I should move to New York to train in the Catskills and learn the peekaboo style. The problem was Teddy Atlas and Kevin Rooney weren’t training there anymore.”
Four months ago, Faiva packed up and moved to New York City, where she started training at the highly respected Cops & Kids Gym in Brooklyn. “I went back because there’s a different boxing culture there and a lot more fighters than in the Catskills,” Faiva added. “I’m surrounded there by elite fighters who are where I want to get. I’ve sparred (IBF World Bantamweight Champion) Miyo Yoshida (17-4) and also train with (hot middleweight prospect) Nisa Rodriquez (2-0). It’s cool to have Miyo and Nisa on the same team as me.”
All three women train at Cops & Kids and are trained by Jimmy Sosa. Miso and Nisa are managed by New York City lawyer Keith Sullivan, who is now working with Fei as her advisor.
“I’m working with Fei to be more stable,” Sosa said. “She’s a little too wild with her punches and is off balance sometimes. The power is there and now she’s learning to be under control, balanced and stable. She first came here training for a fight in the Team Combat League (TLC). I spoke to her and said I’m always available. She’s like a diamond in the rough that just needs some polishing. She’s very talented with tremendous power. She just needs to control it.
“She’s young and lucky to have Nisa and Miyo here. It makes things easier for her. When their training sessions are over, they continue working hard. In three to five years, Fei is going to be a multiple division champion. It is a pleasure working with her.”
Fei, or Feifilimai (her birth name), sparred world champion Alycia “The Bomb” Baumgardner two years ago in Detroit, and Faiva dreamed of fighting on the same card as Baumgardner. On September 27th that will become a reality because Faiva will be fighting on the undercard of an All-Female card, presented by Global Combat Collective (GCC), at Trilith Studios Town Stage in Fayetteville, Georgia.
Baumgardener (15-1, 7 KOs), the unified Female Super Featherweight World Champion (IBF, WBO, IBO and WBC), will defend her WBC crown in the 10-round main event against two-time world champion Delfine Persoon (49-3, 19 KOs), of Belgium. Two of Persoon’s three pro losses were to All-World women’s boxing champion Katie Taylor.
“I always wanted to fight on the undercard of one of her (Baumgardner) fights, but it’s hard to get on and I’m really excited to be fighting on her undercard on September 27th,” Favia admitted. “It’s great to be fighting on an all-girls show. I want to really showcase my skills and prove myself.”
Faiva’s opponent will soon be announced. All of the action, including Feis’s fight, will air live on BrinxTV.
“Fei is a remarkable person,” GCC promoter Nelson Lopez, Jr. shared. “She’s just different in all the good ways. She is coachable and can be molded into the perfect fighter. There’s something raw and genuine about her. Fei has this shyness mixed with a great sense of humor, but, when it comes to fighting, she’s all business. She’s not here for fame or fortune; she’s here to fight, plain and simple. Her intensity in the ring is like Mike Tyson’s. She doesn’t hold back, even her jab packs power. She needs to find her rhythm. I’ve been with Alycia for 10 years and always told Fei she would be fighting on Alycia’s undercard. Now, she’s going to do it on an All-Women’s show. It’s a special moment for all of us.”
Some have called Faiva a smaller, female, Samoan version of Tyson. But Fei wants to establish her own name in boxing, albeit she understands that it’ll be a process.
“I really like working with Jimmy (Sosa),” Faiva concluded. “I’m getting there, slowing things down and working on techniques, which is so important. I’m glad that I have the opportunity to work with him. I’m getting more and more experience in the ring and hopefully more fights. I understand the limitations I have right now, and I’ll always be working on my technique to improve.”
Sosa, as he says, is polishing Fei Faiva into a diamond and future world champion.
