Local female lawyer ranked as world-class boxer

MARSHFIELD, Mass. — During the day, Aleksandra Magdziak Lopes works as an up and coming lawyer.

At night, she plays hard - training as a professional boxer. The Marshfield resident is ranked #2 as a welterweight.

"There are a lot of things I have done in sports," Lopes said. "But in boxing ... that moment when you win, and your hand is raised in front of everybody, it’s for that split second, you are on top of the world, and nothing compares to it."

Lopes started boxing casually in college to get in shape and quickly fell in love with the sport.

Her career took off when she met Wayne Lopes at a gym in Brockton. She started sparring with his sons. He soon became her trainer and - eventually - her husband.

"It’s really a great time at the gym for us, and it’s a passion we share," said Lopes.

Wayne Lopes agreed it’s fun, most of the time. "Fight night is very stressful for me as you can imagine," he said. "I would say when she is fighting, it's 75% of the time, I am watching her through my trainer’s glasses. And then every now and then, 25% of the time, it’s like, ‘Oh my God’, it’s her."

Amateur victories led to professional matches, and soon, Lopes was boxing around the world. She says financing is the toughest part of women’s boxing. "Women’s boxing isn’t televised.  It isn’t supported by sponsors or by big promoters or anything like that."

Still, the level of competition among women is high, according to Wayne Lopes. "The biggest difference between the females and the males is concussive power. I think that the skill sets are the same, the speed. I would say that you don't see as many chilling one punch knockouts among the female fighters."

Kevin Little agrees these fights are tough. He often spars with Lopes. "It’s tough, she’s real tough. If I hold anything back, she’ll just kill me."

It takes a deep dedication to training to reach Lopes’ level. She hopes that her accomplishments might inspire another generation of female boxers. "You know, not giving up easily, being able to work through adversity," Lopes explained. "Those types of things are important to me and I think that that is what I would want to pass on."

Although Lopes is accustomed to fighting on behalf of her legal clients, she says it’s a much different mindset than boxing. In the ring, there is a clear winner. But in the world of law, compromise and negotiation take precedence.

Lopes will be in the ring again Thursday night for a CES Boxing holiday show at the Twin River Casino.

Cox Media Group