LOS ANGELES—There is an exceptionally rich history of adult stars successfully navigating the line between their sex work and mainstream ventures.
For AVN Award-nominated starlet Leah Gotti, this is no different. Having appeared in over 150 scenes in her career, including leading roles for studios and brands like Blacked, Vixen, Naughty America and Brazzers, Gotti still has so much to prove in her adult entertainment career.
Born in Texas, Gotti continues to defy stereotypes with her most exciting project yet.
And it really isn't a project. It's a fight—a boxing match—going down in Miami, Fla. on August 10 against soft-core OnlyFans creator and former ring girl Amber Fields. Streaming live on pay-per-view on DAZN and promoted by Misfits Boxing, the bout is something Gotti has been plugging for months on her social media profiles on X and Instagram.
Currently in her final stages of training for the fight at a high elevation outside Denver, Colo., she took the time to speak with AVN about it and why she is fighting for herself inside and outside the ring.
Explaining that she was introduced to Misfits through a friend of her husband about two years ago, Gotti told AVN, "He asked if I would be interested in boxing, and I jumped on the idea. It has kind of snowballed from there."
It has snowballed, indeed. Gotti said that her training has reached a pinnacle now that she has her very first pay-per-view fight. For her, this return to combat sports in a competitive capacity isn't uncharacteristic. From a young age, Gotti says that she was always active and struggled with anger. She previously wrestled when she was younger, through college.
"I got in a few tumbles when I was younger," she recalled. "I was eventually put into wrestling whenever I was younger to help manage my anger. It was something that I really thrived in."
This fight that holds a deeper meaning for her, though, beyond just returning to combat sports. It is about standing up to stereotypes, especially how mainstream media personalities view porn stars and sex workers.
"I think that a lot more sex workers should be in this space," she said, referring to her view that her fight can help destigmatize sex work for mainstream audiences. "I think a lot of us are fighters anyways—like a lot of us have gone through what most people haven't had to go through. I just want to show that no matter what you've done, you can still do great things."
Gotti pointed to her opponent Amber Fields as a perpetuator of the kind of stigma she says porn stars constantly have to battle. Gotti explained that Fields, who is an OnlyFans content creator herself and a former boxing ring girl, has tried to present herself as someone who is "better" than Gotti.
This is because Fields, according to Gotti, looks down on her for having appeared in adult movies.
Gotti wants it known, too, that she strongly believes that her crossover into boxing will aid her career as an adult performer.
"All in all, I think this fight will make my fan base grow," she explained, noting that one of her fans gifted her her first-ever pair of boxing gloves. "This is really a big opportunity to get my name out there and reach audiences I have never accessed before."
AVN reached out to Amber Fields for comment, but had received no reply as of post time.
Gotti disclosed that she has more upcoming projects including a survival series in development at OnlyFans TV, and that she's training for a half marathon.
Tickets for the August 10 fight are still available here. Viewers can subscribe to DAZN to watch the fight here.
