Lekeisha Pergoliti is an amateur boxer who was awarded a Tier 2 Scholarship within the 2023 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program.
Lekeisha was born in Bunbury, Western Australia in 2002 and boxing has been a part of her life since she was very young however, it wasn’t her first sport of choice. Although her dad had built his own backyard gym when she was two years old and this was the home training facility for many boxers, Lekeisha never showed much interest in the sport until she started boxing at 14 years old to gain extra fitness to assist her on the soccer field. Her love of the sport grew from there and before she knew it she’d traded soccer boots for boxing gloves.
Lekeisha fought her first amateur bout against a more experienced fighter in 2016, as a 14-year-old, and won by unanimous decision. The win proved to be the first of many. In 2018 she claimed both the junior and youth State and National titles and reclaimed in 2019. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, most tournaments were cancelled throughout 2020 and 2021 however, this didn’t damper Lekeisha’s drive and she continued to train and compete where she could.
During 2022 Lekeisha claimed silver at both the Commonwealth Games Trials and Australian Nationals. After her performance, she was catergorised with Combat Australia and is now a part of the National High-Performance Team. Although she is only at the start of her elite amateur career, Lekeisha is hoping to secure a spot on the Australian Team to represent her country at the Olympic Games.
Away from the ring, Lekeisha is working on building her life away from sport as a volunteer with St John Ambulance. She’s a qualified Emergency Medical Responder and hopes to attend university to study paramedicine. While she is following her dream and representing Australia, Lekeisha works as a support worker with Whatability.
Her long-term goal is to remain in sport and create a program that teaches motivation, discipline, and respect for youth in remote and/or rural areas that gives them the foundation to achieve their own goals, using the knowledge and experience that she has gained through boxing and volunteering.
“I am extremely honoured and grateful that SAHOF have given me this scholarship. Receiving this scholarship will allow me to travel to train and compete, assist with recovery and elevate me as an elite athlete inside and outside of the ring. All I have ever wanted since I started boxing is to represent my country and proudly wear the green and gold and with their support I have so much belief that my dream will become reality.” – Lekeisha Pergoliti on being selected as a 2023 Tier 2 Scholarship Holder.
Honours & Achievements
- 3 x State Champion (2018 Junior, 2019 Youth, 2022 Elite Senior)
- 2 x National Champion (2018 Junior, 2019 Youth)
- 2 x National Golden Gloves Champion (2018 Junior, 2019 Youth)
- 2018 – 2023: National Futures Athlete
- Categorised Athlete with AIS and Combat Australia
- Represented Australia at International level
- Selected to attend multiple High-Performance Camps around Australia and at the Australian Institute of Sport
- 2023 Scholarship recipient with the Sport Australia Hall of Fame
- Recognised National High-Performance Athlete
