If you met Tammara Thibeault for the first time and did not know who she was, you would probably get the impression that she does something professional athletically. At 6 feet tall, Thibeault has not only a physical presence, but also the assuredness in her step that high-level athletes seem to have and move with. However, if you were to simply talk to her, even if you guessed that she was an athlete, you probably wouldn’t guess that she is a fighter.

Part of that is because of the preconceived notions about what athletes are and aren’t, and perhaps more pertinently, what women can and can’t do — a notion she’s helping break down with her fists —but it’s also because Thibeault is just as happy to talk about architecture, linguistics and plant-based food as she is about boxing, and maybe even more so.

Thibeault balances life as a tri-lingual (bordering on quadrilingual) master’s student in urban design and urban planning in Sheffield, England, building upon her bachelor’s degree in linguistics and minors in Spanish and Mandarin, with her other job as one of the fastest rising contenders in women’s boxing.

“I'm actually such a nerd. Honestly, when I grew up, I was some chubby kid, I did not play any sports, I was always in the library. My siblings were way more athletically gifted than me. I tell you this with all honesty, I do not know, I do not have a clue how I got myself into this situation. Not a single clue. If you ask my parents, my parents have already. When I was four, I played soccer and they denied that I was their child on the field,” said Thibeault with a laugh. “I worked hard, don't get me wrong, I worked hard, I was stubborn and I wanted this, but I don't know how I got here.”

Friday, she’ll have to pinch herself once again. Thibeault will be a part of the biggest all-women’s boxing event ever, on the undercard of Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano III, as she takes on top-ranked middleweight contender Mary Casamassa in an eight-round bout on Netflix.

In December, Thibeault signed with Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian’s Most Valuable Promotions and instantly entered the fast-track to contention. Thibeault’s bashfulness may just be deeply rooted Canadianness, having grown up in Shawinigan, Quebec, because as a world amateur champion in 2022 and a two-time Olympian representing Canada it was clear from her professional debut against respected veteran Natasha Spence that she already belonged in the upper echelons of the middleweight division.

Four-year old Tammara might not have profiled as a future athlete (despite having a professional football player for a father), let alone champion boxer, but it’s been evident for some time that world-level success was there for the taking in the pros if she wanted it.

But it wasn’t until somewhat recently that what was on offer in the professional ranks was at all compelling to her. Particularly in the weight neighborhood that is reasonable for Thibeault, for women’s middleweights and above the profitable options in North America were nearly non-existent, and for a period of time from 2017-19, it was a bout against Claressa Shields or nothing.

During the peak of her amateur run, Thibeault was fairly open about her indifference to, or even outright opposition to turning pro, on economic and motivational grounds. As an Olympian with a governmental stipend, it allowed her to satiate her competitive desires against the best amateurs in the world and also follow her academic passions comfortably.

“It was when it started to become more interesting for women,” said Thibeault on when her mind started to change regarding professionalism. “Before five years ago it wasn't that interesting. It didn't really kick off until post-2020, but now there are more opportunities and more women are turning over. Quality boxers are turning over, and it's really cool because it makes it more competitive, and also there's more to gain. Before then, you'd be better off as an amateur with endorsements or the Olympic pathway. Now, there's a shot at something greater, which is really cool.”

As with most world amateur champions, there is a caliber of opposition that Thibeault can breeze through from the outset, even as she whittles her game to suit the professional style. Thibeault’s need to be challenged in all facets of her life hasn’t been turned off just because she has an MVP contract, so she and her manager Katia Banel have essentially gone after the best in the middleweight division instantly. Casamassa holds a No. 1 ranking in two of the four major sanctioning bodies, meaning it is not at all out of the question that Thibeault could be a win away from a unified, or maybe even undisputed, title bout. The only current sanctioning body titleholder is Desley Robinson, who holds the IBF and WBO titles, while the other two remain vacant. Shields remains The Ring middleweight champion, but is campaigning at heavyweight.

Thibeault has found a new training home in Sheffield at the Steel City Gym, which also houses pound-for-pound great Chantelle Cameron, who will face Canadian and Quebec resident Jessica Camara on Friday as well.

With her coach Samir El-Mais, Thibeault has been working on something that has been difficult for her to do in life overall.

“Do one thing at a time," she said. “It's slowing things down. ... Throw your one-two, good, but then do it more often. It sounds weird, but it makes sense when you do it. ...

"I like learning how to control and slow things down while still being busy will allow me to be a better athlete, create more opportunities. ... I don't have to go 100 million miles an hour, that's not my strength. I've got a good IQ, I'm smart, so use it. Some people are really, really strong, some people are really fast, some people are really smart. I'm gonna use that. I will use what God gave me.”

Although she might be able to slow things down in the ring and enjoy the fruits of her labor as she did in her brutal first-round stoppage win over Sonya Dreiling last time out, sticking to one thing at a time generally is never going to happen for Thibeault, who is simply not wired that way.

Though she has, at least for now, paused her dreams of pursuing a PhD, Thibeault has ambitions that extend far beyond the ring, but also ones that can be bolstered by her in-ring success and growing fame.

“The two things I do are completely unrelated. Urban designer, town planner. Weird compared to the athlete I am,” said Thibeault. “But I would really like to work in sustainable development, and would be cool to have my own urban design company, my own firm at some point. ... Boxing, it's my job, but I might as well get myself smarter because you don't get to be an athlete forever right?

"I'm a smart girl. I was thinking maybe even doing community pro bono work after my degree. ... Being an athlete and being la public figure is really cool, but I think for me, what's most important is giving back and doing something with this stage that I have. There's no point in me doing all this and accomplishing all this and not leaving anything, not leaving the world any better than I came into it.”