Civil engineer set to swap job site for ring ahead of boxing debut

From male-dominated job sites to fight nights, Nathalie Pavlides has faced down plenty of challenges. Now the Gold Coast local is facing her toughest one yet – a pro-boxing debut against an opponent with a perfect record.

Nathalie Pavlides

Nathalie Pavlides has held strong to two personal ideals in her life.

She has always ‘walked her own path’ and been ‘willing to fight’ every step of the way.

Pavlides was basically born with boxing gloves thanks to her dad and her upbringing was heavily influenced by the sport.

“I was wearing gloves when I was three or four years old,” Pavlides said.

“Dad was training, he was a professional boxer and coach.

“I remember being a kid and watching him train back in Sweden.

“I remember going to gym with dad in the afternoons, being there on the sidelines watching him train when I was five and six.

“It’s been a part of my life since the day I was born.”

Boxing is part of Pavlides’ DNA but when the time came to step into the ring – Pavlides chose a different sport.

The Gold Coaster chose Muay Thai over the sweet science.

“As much as I love my dad we do clash a little,” she said.

“When I was younger, being a teenager as much as you love your dad you have that teenage mind, a bit of immaturity, we’d always argue about boxing and in that sense I was stressing him out and stressing myself out.

“Dad said if you don’t want to do boxing you’re going to do another fighting sport so he actually took me to Muay Thai and I spent seven years doing that.”

Maturity and time has bought a change of perspective though and Pavlides is set to follow in the footsteps of her dad and her boxing brother Joel.

Pavlides will make her pro boxing debut in Toowoomba on November 8.

Nathalie Pavlides is set to make pro boxing debut in Toowoomba

“I’m really excited after stepping back from Muay Thai and kind of closing the door to sports. closing the door to fighting and now regaining that passion,” she said.

“For me this is a new start, obviously I have fought before but not in boxing so having a new clean sport, a new start is quite exciting.

“I’m really excited to be fighting in Toowoomba, it has a good relationship with boxing, they get behind boxers and get excited – I can’t wait.”

Pavlides will debut against highly touted fighter Rattu.

The Indian boxer has won all six of her professional fights by knockout and will pose a massive challenges.

Pavlides however loves a challenge from early morning cardio sessions and evening sparring session with dad and coach to life on the job site as a civil engineer she has always been a fighter.

“It (civil engineering) not been the easiest career decision I’ve ever made – it has its challenges,” Pavlides said.

“As good as the industry is getting it still has its challenges every day, I still face a lot of challenges because I am a woman.

“However I have always had the fight in me – my parents raised me to fight for what I wanted to do.

I wanted to be a fighter, I wanted to be an engineer regardless of if it was the right thing to do, the right career path or what society was telling me to do.

“I will never regret any decision I make, because at the end of the day if I give it my all, give it a crack there’s nothing that anyone can say or do that will make regret my decisions.

“Boxing and engineering are the best decisions I have made, there was a lot of risk, but the greater the risk the greater reward.”