Jackie Kallen
Encyclopedia
Jackie Kallen is one of boxing
's first and most successful female manager
s. Her life was the inspiration for the film Against the Ropes
. She also worked as a consultant for Mark Burnett
's reality tv series The Contender.
, Frank Sinatra
, Elvis Presley
and countless others. In 1977 she was assigned to interview a boxing prospect from the Kronk
gym in Detroit, Michigan, Thomas Hearns
. Kallen became fascinated with sports and began working as a sports journalist specializing in boxing.
Kallen spent a decade as Hearns' publicist as Hearns went on to face Sugar Ray Leonard
in two championship fights
. In the process she became well known around Detroit's boxing circles but met with sexism
along the way.
Kallen made her managerial debut with heavyweight Bobby Hitz in 1988. She managed her first champion in 1991, James Toney
knocking out Michael Nunn
in eleven rounds to win the IBF
world Middleweight title. Another Kallen fighter, Bronco McKart
, won the WBO world Jr. Middleweight title in 1994.
Her business relationship with Toney was controversial but allowed her to gain celebrity among boxing's hard-core fans. She was featured in Ring and KO Magazine
. Kallen referred to Toney many times as someone she loved like a son, but there were rampant rumors that she and Toney did not get along well behind the scenes. The pair had an on and off friendship until their bond was finally broken in the late 1990s.
Kallen was diagnosed both with heart
disease and cancer
during that decade, but after three surgeries she recovered and is enjoying good health.
Kallen currently lives in Los Angeles, California
, and manages three professional boxers, including McKart and a prospect from the Philippines
.
She recorded a public service announcement for Deejay Ra's 'Hip-Hop Literacy' campaign encouraging reading books about boxing personalities.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
's first and most successful female manager
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
s. Her life was the inspiration for the film Against the Ropes
Against the Ropes
Against the Ropes is a 2004 drama movie. It stars Meg Ryan and Omar Epps and was directed by Charles S. Dutton, in his motion-picture directorial debut....
. She also worked as a consultant for Mark Burnett
Mark Burnett
Mark Burnett is a British television producer and executive producer, based in the United States. He currently is the executive producer of five network television series with seven hours of network programming. Works with which Burnett is associated have won multiple awards and recognition...
's reality tv series The Contender.
Early life
Kallen was raised in a middle-class Jewish family in Detroit. She attended Schulze Elementary and Mumford High School.Career
A show business journalist for a magazine in the 1970s, Kallen interviewed the Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
and countless others. In 1977 she was assigned to interview a boxing prospect from the Kronk
Kronk Gym
Kronk Gym was a boxing gym located in Detroit and led by the famous trainer Emanuel Steward. The gym was run out of the basement of the oldest recreation center of the City of Detroit...
gym in Detroit, Michigan, Thomas Hearns
Thomas Hearns
Thomas "Hitman" Hearns is a retired American boxer. Nicknamed the "Motor City Cobra" and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns became the first boxer in history to win world titles in four divisions. He would also become the first fighter in history to win five world titles in five different divisions...
. Kallen became fascinated with sports and began working as a sports journalist specializing in boxing.
Kallen spent a decade as Hearns' publicist as Hearns went on to face Sugar Ray Leonard
Sugar Ray Leonard
Sugar Ray Leonard is an American retired professional boxer and occasional actor. He was named Ray Charles Leonard, after his mother's favorite singer, Ray Charles...
in two championship fights
Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns
Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns are considered to be two of the best boxers of all-time. They fought twice, once in 1981 and once in 1989. Both fights are considered to be classics.-Leonard-Hearns I "The Showdown":...
. In the process she became well known around Detroit's boxing circles but met with sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
along the way.
Kallen made her managerial debut with heavyweight Bobby Hitz in 1988. She managed her first champion in 1991, James Toney
James Toney
James Nathanial Toney is an American professional boxer who has held world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, and cruiserweight divisions. Toney currently fights in the heavyweight division in boxing and also now competes in mixed martial arts.-Boxing career:Toney's amateur boxing...
knocking out Michael Nunn
Michael Nunn
Michael Nunn is a former American boxer. Nicknamed "Second to Nunn," he was a 6' 2" southpaw with great speed. Nunn was the IBF middleweight champion and the WBA super middleweight champion...
in eleven rounds to win the IBF
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
world Middleweight title. Another Kallen fighter, Bronco McKart
Bronco McKart
Bronco Banyon McKart is a professional boxer in the super welterweight division, and is best known for fighting, and losing, three times against Winky Wright....
, won the WBO world Jr. Middleweight title in 1994.
Her business relationship with Toney was controversial but allowed her to gain celebrity among boxing's hard-core fans. She was featured in Ring and KO Magazine
KO Magazine
KO Magazine is a popular United States boxing magazine. It was first published in 1979, to compete with The Ring.During the 1980s, KO Magazine, nicknamed "The knockout boxing magazine", ran some popular features, such as a round-by-round section where the most important fights were described punch...
. Kallen referred to Toney many times as someone she loved like a son, but there were rampant rumors that she and Toney did not get along well behind the scenes. The pair had an on and off friendship until their bond was finally broken in the late 1990s.
Kallen was diagnosed both with heart
Heart
The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
disease and cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
during that decade, but after three surgeries she recovered and is enjoying good health.
Kallen currently lives in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, and manages three professional boxers, including McKart and a prospect from the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
She recorded a public service announcement for Deejay Ra's 'Hip-Hop Literacy' campaign encouraging reading books about boxing personalities.
External links
See also
- Aileen EatonAileen EatonAileen Eaton was a boxing promoter who was influential in the United States' west coast's boxing scene for five decades. Eaton was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She attended Los Angeles High School....