Hard at work

Boxing | 29th June 2009

Claudia Baxter

EVERY time heavyweight boxer Alex Leapai adds another title to his name, there are a whole group of people who win with him.

Fresh after his World Boxing Oriental (WBO) title win last Friday, which pushed him into the top 15 in the world, Leapai was quick to take the attention off himself and put it onto his workmates.

“This is where it all started. I turned pro here, while working at this place,” he said fondly about Bris Aluminium in Slacks Creek.

“People only read about the achievements but they don't know how it happened.”

The Woodridge father-of-five, who is currently the number one heavyweight boxer in Australia, credits his achievements in boxing to the support he has received from his workplace.

“They've always stuck beside me, even through the hard times,” he said.

Leaving early from work each day to drive to Gatton for training, Leapai still gets paid the same amount as he would if he worked the full day's hours.

It is through this payment system that the company sponsors Leapai financially, but the support he receives also goes beyond finances.

There was even a time when his car broke down and the company, which has employed him since 2004, helped him get to training.

“I owe it to them, I owe it to my family and to my church,” the 28-year-old said.

Bris Aluminium manager, Charles Theron, said it was pretty hard to say no to supporting Leapai when he had the dedication to drive to Gatton everyday for training.

“It's basically helping somebody who has the passion so he will be able to further his career in boxing,” he said.

“He had the ability, he just needed a little help, that's all.

“We're quite proud of him, of where he was to where he is today.”

Mr Theron said that supporting Leapai helped boost company morale.

“Everybody in the company follows Alex's progress. It's a big morale boost for the people who work here,” he said.

“He showed us on Friday night that he's doing us all proud and the community proud.”

Leapai said that last Friday night's fight which saw him walk away with the WBO belt, was one of the biggest fights in his career.

He was up against the experienced and currently ranked number four in Australia, Colin Wilson.

Leapai said in two weeks time he was going to go fight in America and he was only a couple of fights away from competing for the World Titles.

At least one thing is for sure when it comes to Leapai's boxing career - his workplace will be behind him all the way.