His win in the 57kg weight class over Penrith's Harrison Winters is nothing new for the 21-year-old champ—he's now achieved victory in all 31 fights of his boxing career. But despite coming in with such an impressive ring-record, the Argentinian-born Tissera recognised his challenger was not to be underestimated.
"I knew I was up against an experienced opponent for this fight, so we wanted to be prepared for any opponent," he said. "During the three rounds, the goal was to shorten the distance as we knew this is where we would make a difference to obtain victory."
His undefeated record inside the squared circle is impressive, but not surprising for anyone who's kept up with his progress since arriving in Australia from Argentina at the beginning of 2019.
The physical and psychological pre-planning from Tissera and his team was crucial in paving his path to victory. Ahead of the fight, Tissera worked closely with renowned professional boxers and twin brothers, Jason and Andrew Moloney, from Melbourne.
Emiliano, who goes by Emi for short, is now preparing for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris under the guidance of Team Maloney, as well as his father and coach, Alejandro Tissera.
Competitive fighting has been a fact of life for Tissera since he was old enough to walk. His father, Alejandro, is a Chinese martial arts master and kick boxing champion. Emi started kickboxing in his pre-teen years, which culminated in winning the Argentinian national kickboxing championship at the age of 12.
However, Alejandro was eager to mould Emi into an Olympic athlete, which brought about the switch to boxing. Emi took to the new sport with aplomb, winning 25 consecutive fights by the time he'd turned 18. But the quest for Olympic glory ultimately led the Tissera family to emigrate to Australia.
Emi — AKA "El Toro Tissera" — is now training for the national championships in February 2022, the next step toward his goal of representing Australia at the Olympics. Training twice per way, seven days a week, Emi spends over 20 hours a week preparing his body and mind for the ring. His workouts are made up of strength building, sparring with some of Australia's best boxers, drills, and cardio.
Before a fight, Emi will cut down on his calorie intake and fast for 23 hours each day in order to make his weight category of 57 kilos. The night before a fight, he'll spend hours rotating between a sauna and an ice bath. This hold/cold exposure improves blood flow and offers fast recovery from his training.
Recently, Emi took to social media to share a heartfelt post about the sacrifice he is currently making in his fight for the Olympic Games. In a post shared to Instagram, he said:
"I miss my mum and twin sister everyday, I think about them all the time and how much of their lives I've missed because I have big dreams, I know that they are my sacrifice but also my reason why I keep pushing forward," he wrote.
"My father has taught me everything about boxing and other combat sports," he continued. "When we moved to Australia we didn't know a word of English and he has sacrificed so much to help me get to where I am today but we have a long way to go. My dream is to represent this beautiful country in the Olympics in Paris. Australia has given us so many opportunities and I want to give so much back to her by winning gold in the Olympics."
Emiliano Tissera is
