Meet Cape Verde's Nancy Moreira, IOC Olympic Solidarity Scholar and African boxing champion with a Muhammad Ali-like style
The IOC Olympic Solidarity scholarship holder from Cape Verde tells Olympics.com how she became an African champion despite only starting the sport at 23, and why mentality is more important than money on her journey towards Paris 2024.
Boxing
Cape Verde boxing star Ivanusa Gomes Moreira, also known as ‘Nancy Moreira’, doesn’t make excuses.
The West African only picked up a pair of gloves for the first time at the age of 23, but worked harder than anyone else in her gym to make up for lost time. Today, she boasts a world class boxing resume.
Last year, aged 32, she finished fifth in the welterweight division at the 2022 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships, despite receiving almost no financial support from her national federation and relying on her funding from the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Solidarity programme.
But the best was yet to come.
In August 2023, Moreira won gold at the African Boxing Championships, taking a significant step towards her dream of competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. In order to get there, she will have to be at her best at the Africa Boxing Qualifier in Dakar, Senegal.
“I wanted to be someone and I wanted to be appreciated for my sport. So I trained, I trained harder than everyone else because I was the first to arrive, I was the last to leave," Moreira told Olympics.com.
“I wasn't imitating anyone because I knew that sometimes in order to achieve something, you have to do more than others.”
From out of shape to 'Ali Nancy'
Moreira was born in Cape Verde, but moved to Portugal aged eight.
In a ‘strange new world’ the youngster found familiarity and fun through sport: playing athletics, football and futsal, while supporting footballing giants FC Porto.
Ared 23, her brother-in-law, a local boxing champion, suggested that she try a workout with him while on vacation. Safe to say, it wasn’t an immediate fit hit.
“The first training session was so difficult that I lay in bed for a week after!” she revealed.
But over the next month Moreira noticed that her weight had started to increase, so she decided to give boxing another go.
“I am one of these athletes who has to exercise hard, so I went back to boxing alone.
“For me boxing brought the changes to my body that were everything I had always dreamed of… that even in football couldn't do.
“When I started, the goal was to lose weight and to tone up, I soon saw the results very fast. Despite being a very difficult and very tough sport I soon fell in love with the competition.”
Nancy Moreira in action for Cape Verde at the 2023 African Boxing Championships in Cameroon, which she won. Now, she is going for gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The budding pugilist dropped from 76 kg to 64 kg in order to take on an FC Porto athlete who was judged to be the best in the nation.
“The next year at the regional championship I fought with this athlete who was the best in Portugal, who had never lost and won the three consecutive years. I beat her and won the competition!”
“My boxing style is very Olympic, like Muhammad Ali. The nickname my teammates gave me was ‘Ali Nancy’ there because he also had that very loose style. Not a lot of strength, but using footwork. I am tall and I have very long arms, so is this my style.
“I follow professional boxing, people like Floyd Mayweather, Canelo Alvarez and several other top athletes.”
Nancy Moreira: Traliblazing for women in Africa
Since then, for ten years, boxing has been part of Moreira’s daily life, whether to control stress, maintain a healthy lifestyle, or, above all, for the fun of competition.
It’s also given her the chance to become a history-maker.
“The first big, big memory for me was the African Games in 2019 in Rabat [Morocco]. I was the only medal winner, a bronze for Cape Verde, so it was a historic and very good moment.”
But as a trailblazing female athlete from the West African nation, her path to the top ranks has been far from simple.
“After becoming a mother I gained 30 kilos. After training for a year I got rid of the 30 kilos. and returned to my 64 kg category because I wanted to continue, because I was still not satisfied."
Moreira has a five-year-old son and she's the aunt/mother of a six-year-old, who she adopted at five months. She divides her time between two businesses that she has with her husband: a gym where she teaches boxing and cooking at a hamburger restaurant.
She has reconciled her life as a boxer with that of a mother, partner, and business owner.
In Cape Verde, where archaic attitudes often still exist when it comes to women in sport, Moreira wants to play her part in breaking them down.
“Even after having won some important competitions and winning medals when I breastfed," she said.
“With determination and focus everything can be achieved, and in this way I want to show other women that they can fight for their dreams too."
Moreira overcame another obstacle at the 2022 World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, when she travelled to the competition alone, and with little financial support from her federation.
If it wasn’t for her Olympic Solidarity scholarship funding, and the generosity of the Brazil team who supported Moreira by providing access to their coaches, nutrition and physiotherapist, she may not have been able to compete at all.
But still, the Cape Verdean did not complain with her less favourable situation compared to her opponents, and performed impressively in the ring to finish one win away from a world bronze medal.
Crowdfunding to win gold at the African Boxing Championships
That performance set the foundation for what Moreira considers her greatest achievement to date: winning the 2023 AFBC African Boxing Championships in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
However, once again, there was even more remarkable backstory that contribued to the achievement.
Despite her fine form over the previous 12 months, the boxer was informed a week before the competition that her national federation would not be able to provide any funding for her.
True to form, instead of feeling sorry for herself, Moreira got to work.
“I advertised on Facebook. I asked for help, asked for sponsors, and took out loans at the bank to be able to go to this tournament,” she revealed.
“It was difficult, because at first I was going to go alone due to the costs. The tournament was close to €6,500 and with so little time I had spoken to a coach from South Africa who agreed to accompany me in the ring.
“My coach and husband couldn't go with me, but when I was about to leave the house I told him 'I can't go alone and I don't believe it'. So we took a credit card that we had, bought the trip on time and thank God he got the same route as I was going to take. It was worth it because I won."
Nancy Moreira with her husband and coach after winning the welterwieght boxing title at the 2023 African Boxing Championships in Cameroon. Together, they are tackling stereotypical attitudes towards women in sport in Cape Verde.
It was a move that paid dividends, as Moreira had the tournament of her life.
“I have 120 fights right now and that was the best moment for me, without a doubt,” she continued.
“In fact, my favourite fight in Yaounde was the first one, where I beat Emily Nakalema, from Uganda, who beat me four years ago in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifier.”
Olympic Games Paris 2024: Boxing Africa Qualifier
Next up for the wife and husband team, is the Africa Boxing Qualifier for Paris 2024, taking place in Dakar, Senegal, 9 to 15 September.
Her inspiring journey over the past decade has involved many sacrifices, and competing at the Games is an achievement Moreira wants to share with those she loves the most.
“No doubt. I see myself with the [Olympic] ticket,” she said. “When I'm training, this is what I say and I think of that ticket in my hand and I think of the happiness I'm going to feel and that I'm going to give to my people, to my family. They are also tired of watching me fight.
“It's my son [Eduardo Miguel, 5] who told me to stop boxing because I'm always on my feet and sometimes I can't take him to the park, because I'm tired and because I'm always out too. And he's already a little tired and I already explained that it's just one more event.
“All my effort, dedication, starting the sport late, lacking adequate financial conditions… even with so many difficulties, you can fight and we must never give up on our dreams.
“But without a doubt it's going to be a great victory and I will fight with everything I really have to achieve it.”