Local Fighter Foppiano Isn't Pulling Punches

EVERETT, MA — Shayna Foppiano took a lot of guff from schoolyard bullies growing up. She won the attention of boys in her class - boys she didn't really want anything to do with - so she got used to being called all sorts of names by female classmates.

Now 26, Foppiano still hears the chirping. She's just a girl looking to parlay a pretty face into a boxing career, they say. She hasn't earned it the way the other girls had. She's had more modeling shoots than fights.

Her detractors, past and present, only serve as fuel. They can't touch her when she's in the ring.

"This is kind of my outlet to take control," Foppiano said after a sweltering training session at Greater Boston Fitness in Revere. She was prepping to take on Sarah Click, an ex-Marine from Buzzards Bay, Sept. 14 at Twin River Casino. It's her first contest since signing with CES Boxing.

"This gives me confidence that I'm a strong woman," she said. "I couldn't let these bullies - people who had weakness inside - tell me who I was."

Foppiano grew up in Everett, graduated from Everett High, and is even billed from Everett despite living in Malden. CES sees in Foppiano the potential for a Greater Boston version of Ronda Rousey - a marketable young woman just as comfortable flashing a smile as she is throwing hands. As the Boston Encore Harbor casino readies for a 2019 opening, having a local star you can plaster on flyers is smart money. Throw in the name "Hollywood" - for her looks, they say - and you've got a sure bet.

Or do you? Foppiano only has one professional fight under her belt, TKO'ing Lamarya Geary in about 90 seconds at the House Of Blues in Boston last September. She never had an amateur career, picking up fighting relatively late and being inserted directly into the pro ranks.

That quick ascent coupled with those Hollywood good looks can be a target for some fighters looking to make a name of their own, just like it was with those insecure girls back in school.

Foppiano has a tattoo on her right forearm that reads "dare to be great."

Her coach, Joe Lake, dares her to be even better. The veteran boxing guru has trained three world champions and worked with names such as Micky Ward and Joe Rogan. He isn't about to waste his time with someone who is in it to book her next magazine cover.

"She is a good athlete," Lake said. "She really wanted to box. It's rewarding for me."

Still, Foppiano doesn't shy away from being a beautiful brawler. For her, it isn't a choice she feels pressured to make.

"I can be both," she said. "I want to be both."

Foppiano's older sister, Trinere, said Shayna always had a bit of a tomboyish athletic streak, but this was something else entirely.

"I feel like it happened overnight," Trinere said. "I used to beat her up growing up, and now I wouldn't mess with her."

Her family's first reaction was not to break anything on her face, Trinere said. And while Shayna would like to keep her face in one piece, too, she knows this could be her chance to scratch that nagging itch she's felt since she was young.

"I've kind of always had a feeling that I was going to be something," Foppiano said. "Ultimately, I just want to be successful."

She's had a taste of that between the ropes, and she's ready for the next step. She wants more than the Hollywood looks - she wants the ending, too.

"I want a belt," she said. "I won't be satisfied until I get one."

Photos, video by Mike Carraggi, Patch