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Description
"If you want to speak to your gods, pray to them. If you want to meet them in person, fight me."

DOB: March 27th, 1995

Division Ranking: #4, #6 pound for pound fighter

If you sign up to face Talalelei Autagavaia, more frequently known as Tala Autagavaia in the ring, just know that you will probably have better odds with a firing squad, a hungry komodo dragon, a pit of lava, and any other hazard that comes to mind. When most people think of sports on Samoa their mind correctly goes to rugby and indeed, the Polynesian island country is known for producing some of the finest players in the world. Samoans have left their mark in the sport of boxing too however and none may be more famous than the legendary heavyweight David Tua. Tua possessed one of the greatest chins of all time, had the power to knock out any fighter on the planet, a devastating left hook, and a relentless aggressive style. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest heavyweights to never win a world title and has been long been considered the greatest Polynesian boxer of all time. Tala is out to change that. Normally fighters don't like to be compared to legends but the eldest daughter of the Autagavaia family doesn't mind the comparisons at all because she idolized Tua growing up and considers it a great honor to be compared to the Tuamanator. She isn't David Tua, but given how she fights and how she destroys her opponents, she might as well be.

Talalelei 'Tala' Autagavaia was born on March 27th, 1995 in the village of Falelima on the island on of Savaiʻi (Salafai) in Samoa. Born to the respected Tamasese and Talila Autagavaia, her father is the matai or chieftain of both the family and the extended family which is one of the most important roles in Samoan culture. The matai is expected to provide leadership and guidance to all areas of family life. He or she settles disputes, oversees agreements, offers parental and spiritual guidance to other members, and is also responsible for watching over the family land as well as representing the family interests in village affairs and meetings. As is often the case in Samoa, Talalelei has a very large family with three sisters and seven brothers counted among them. She is the eldest daughter of her family and the second oldest overall. Talalelei earned a reputation for being tough as nails very early in life. She suffered medical complications as an infant including a serious case of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) that almost killed her. Thankfully for Tamasese and Talila, their first daughter proved to have a warrior's spirit within her and she fought off the virus, growing into a healthy young girl.

Samoan society has generally been patriarchal with women often expected to care for the home and young children and this didn't sit well with Tala. She was athletic, competitive, fiery, taller than most girls, and wanted to be a groundbreaker, not someone who fell in line with tradition. While Tala's fiery resistance to traditional roles was somewhat frowned upon by the other families in the village and even an occasional topic at council meetings, Tamasese, a gentle giant of 6'3", did not clamp down on his daughter's ambitions so long as she was respectful and adherent to the family's wishes. Tala partook in all the athletic endeavors that her brothers and the other boys of the village did which included rugby, wrestling, soccer, and just about anything that involved physical contact, including fights...sometimes especially fights. Tala's brothers often watched boxing matches and David Tua was very popular in the Autagavaia household. When Tala started joining her brothers to watch his fights, she became his #1 fan. As she matured into her tween years, Tala gained a reputation among the village for being the girl who was tougher than most of the boys. That being said, Tala never went out of her way to pick fights with others. She had taken her father's words and warning to heart and tried to navigate a fine line between respecting her elders and Samoan traditions and being who she was. Sometimes she crossed a couple of lines but Tamasese ensured that his daughter was largely free to operate without disrupting the harmony of the village. Even so, he knew that he wouldn't be able to control his daughter's fire forever and this forced him to make a decision when she was 14. The head of Autagavaia family sent his eldest daughter to live with his brother Tavita in New Zealand for half a year (with periodic visits back home of course). Tavita runs a boxing gym in northern Auckland and as he would later recall when he first brought Tala to the gym, "Her eyes lit up like Mt. Matavanu blowing its lid." The rest is history.

Tala's boxing qualities are something that you would think are borrowed from a video game. She has, without question or dispute, the best chin in women's boxing. Tala has fought 20 times and never been knocked down, let alone even hurt by an opponent. Though Autagavaia was thoroughly outclassed in both her fights against pound for pound queen Hilde Rúriksdóttir, (the only losses of her career thus far) the Icelandic fighter had nothing but praise for her younger opponent.

"Her chin is a black hole. It absorbs everything that hits it. I've never fought someone I couldn't hurt until I fought her. I landed some of the cleanest punches I've ever thrown in the ring and she walked through them like she didn't even feel them. She's rough around the edges but she can definitely win a world title if she fixes those holes."

Couple Tala's hall of fame caliber chin with some classic Samoan stopping power and it's little wonder where she gets her nickname of 'The Samoan Tank' from. Though ranked quite favorably (and perhaps a bit generously) among welterweights, Tala's first 10 fights were against under-matched opposition and even now she doesn't have too many quality opponents on her resume outside of Hilde Rúriksdóttir which is why she finds herself at #7 on the pound for pound rankings. Even so, the Samoan is still young, hungry and looking to prove herself every time she steps into the ring. She is not to be underestimated by anyone at any level.

Record: 18 - 3 - 2 (15 KO)

Character Theme / Ring Walk Music :Kotahitanga Haka

Fun Fact: The name 'Talalelei' means 'good news' in Pacific Islander language.

Description
"If you want to speak to your gods, pray to them. If you want to meet them in person, fight me."

DOB: March 27th, 1995

Division Ranking: #4, #6 pound for pound fighter

If you sign up to face Talalelei Autagavaia, more frequently known as Tala Autagavaia in the ring, just know that you will probably have better odds with a firing squad, a hungry komodo dragon, a pit of lava, and any other hazard that comes to mind. When most people think of sports on Samoa their mind correctly goes to rugby and indeed, the Polynesian island country is known for producing some of the finest players in the world. Samoans have left their mark in the sport of boxing too however and none may be more famous than the legendary heavyweight David Tua. Tua possessed one of the greatest chins of all time, had the power to knock out any fighter on the planet, a devastating left hook, and a relentless aggressive style. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest heavyweights to never win a world title and has been long been considered the greatest Polynesian boxer of all time. Tala is out to change that. Normally fighters don't like to be compared to legends but the eldest daughter of the Autagavaia family doesn't mind the comparisons at all because she idolized Tua growing up and considers it a great honor to be compared to the Tuamanator. She isn't David Tua, but given how she fights and how she destroys her opponents, she might as well be.

Talalelei 'Tala' Autagavaia was born on March 27th, 1995 in the village of Falelima on the island on of Savaiʻi (Salafai) in Samoa. Born to the respected Tamasese and Talila Autagavaia, her father is the matai or chieftain of both the family and the extended family which is one of the most important roles in Samoan culture. The matai is expected to provide leadership and guidance to all areas of family life. He or she settles disputes, oversees agreements, offers parental and spiritual guidance to other members, and is also responsible for watching over the family land as well as representing the family interests in village affairs and meetings. As is often the case in Samoa, Talalelei has a very large family with three sisters and seven brothers counted among them. She is the eldest daughter of her family and the second oldest overall. Talalelei earned a reputation for being tough as nails very early in life. She suffered medical complications as an infant including a serious case of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) that almost killed her. Thankfully for Tamasese and Talila, their first daughter proved to have a warrior's spirit within her and she fought off the virus, growing into a healthy young girl.

Samoan society has generally been patriarchal with women often expected to care for the home and young children and this didn't sit well with Tala. She was athletic, competitive, fiery, taller than most girls, and wanted to be a groundbreaker, not someone who fell in line with tradition. While Tala's fiery resistance to traditional roles was somewhat frowned upon by the other families in the village and even an occasional topic at council meetings, Tamasese, a gentle giant of 6'3", did not clamp down on his daughter's ambitions so long as she was respectful and adherent to the family's wishes. Tala partook in all the athletic endeavors that her brothers and the other boys of the village did which included rugby, wrestling, soccer, and just about anything that involved physical contact, including fights...sometimes especially fights. Tala's brothers often watched boxing matches and David Tua was very popular in the Autagavaia household. When Tala started joining her brothers to watch his fights, she became his #1 fan. As she matured into her tween years, Tala gained a reputation among the village for being the girl who was tougher than most of the boys. That being said, Tala never went out of her way to pick fights with others. She had taken her father's words and warning to heart and tried to navigate a fine line between respecting her elders and Samoan traditions and being who she was. Sometimes she crossed a couple of lines but Tamasese ensured that his daughter was largely free to operate without disrupting the harmony of the village. Even so, he knew that he wouldn't be able to control his daughter's fire forever and this forced him to make a decision when she was 14. The head of Autagavaia family sent his eldest daughter to live with his brother Tavita in New Zealand for half a year (with periodic visits back home of course). Tavita runs a boxing gym in northern Auckland and as he would later recall when he first brought Tala to the gym, "Her eyes lit up like Mt. Matavanu blowing its lid." The rest is history.

Tala's boxing qualities are something that you would think are borrowed from a video game. She has, without question or dispute, the best chin in women's boxing. Tala has fought 20 times and never been knocked down, let alone even hurt by an opponent. Though Autagavaia was thoroughly outclassed in both her fights against pound for pound queen Hilde Rúriksdóttir, (the only losses of her career thus far) the Icelandic fighter had nothing but praise for her younger opponent.

"Her chin is a black hole. It absorbs everything that hits it. I've never fought someone I couldn't hurt until I fought her. I landed some of the cleanest punches I've ever thrown in the ring and she walked through them like she didn't even feel them. She's rough around the edges but she can definitely win a world title if she fixes those holes."

Couple Tala's hall of fame caliber chin with some classic Samoan stopping power and it's little wonder where she gets her nickname of 'The Samoan Tank' from. Though ranked quite favorably (and perhaps a bit generously) among welterweights, Tala's first 10 fights were against under-matched opposition and even now she doesn't have too many quality opponents on her resume outside of Hilde Rúriksdóttir which is why she finds herself at #7 on the pound for pound rankings. Even so, the Samoan is still young, hungry and looking to prove herself every time she steps into the ring. She is not to be underestimated by anyone at any level.

Record: 18 - 3 - 2 (15 KO)

Character Theme / Ring Walk Music :Kotahitanga Haka

Fun Fact: The name 'Talalelei' means 'good news' in Pacific Islander language.