5. Sidney Fields. “Only Human: A Knockout in Fight Game.” Daily News, July 1, 1969, n.p. [Folder: Miscellaneous. Box 45, Series 13. Fistic Arcana. Hank Kaplan Archive, Brooklyn College Archives and Special Collections, Brooklyn College Library.]
6. “Fight Fans to See Lady Announcer.” AP. Indiana Gazette (Pennsylvania), March 15, 1967, p. 53. [Newspapers.com]
7. Al Goldberg. “Femininity Climbs into Ring.” News Journal (Mansfield, Ohio), March 16, 1967, p. 37. [Newspapers.com]
8. “Gals’ Boxing Decision Is: Stay at Home.” AP. Prescott Evening Courier (Arizona), June 2, 1959, p. 3. [Google News]
9. “‘Boxing’ Fem Rasslers Shine.” Abilene Reporter-News, October 5, 1965, p. 11. [Newspapers.com]
10. Amarillo Globe-Times, October 8, 1965, p. 16. [Newspapers.com]
11. “Noble falls to Antone.” Abilene Reporter-News, June 21, 1966, p. 7. [Newspapers.com]
12. “Okay—Er, Ladies, Come out Fighting.” Independent (Long Beach, California), June 30, 1966, p. C2. [Newspapers.com]
13. Ray Fitzgerald. “12-Year-Old Manomet Girl—A Real Knockout.” Boston Globe, January 18, 1969, pp. 17–18. [ProQuest]
14. Bob Townsend. “Laura’s Punch Shakes up Boxing Commission.” Brockton Daily Enterprise, January 18, 1969, p. 21. [Folder: Miscellaneous. Box 45, Series 13. Fistic Arcana. Hank Kaplan Archive, Brooklyn College Archives and Special Collections, Brooklyn College Library.]
15. “Battling Little Laura Ends Boxing Career.” Boston Globe, January 25, 1969, p. 16. [ProQuest]
16. “Boxing Club Shocked on Discovering Truth.” Lebanon Daily News (Pennsylvania), March 25, 1972, p. 2. [Newspapers.com]
17. “Girls Welcome at Boys Club.” Daily Herald, April 30, 1969, sec 2, p. 8. [Newspapers.com]
18. Bill Gilbert and Nancy Williamson. “Are You Being Two-Face?” Sports Illustrated, June 4, 2013, n.p. [Sportsillustrated.com]
19. “Female Boxing.” Pittsburgh Courier, January 23, 1965, p. 12.
20. Abigail Van Duran. “Dear Abby: Female Boxing Blow-by-Blow.” Independent (Long Beach, California), November 30, 1969, p. 73. [Newspapers.com]
21. Seattle Times, July 14, 1970, n.p. [Folder: Miscellaneous. Box 45, Series 13. Fistic Arcana. Hank Kaplan Archive, Brooklyn College Archives and Special Collections, Brooklyn College Library.]
22. “Pennsylvania Woman Lands Blow on Males.” Pocono Record (Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania), February 2, 1975, p. 15. [Newspapers.com]
23. Ray Parrillo. “Carol Polis Recalls Her Days as the First Woman to Judge a Pro Boxing Match.” Philadephia Inquirer, July 15, 2011, n.p. [Philly.com].
24. “Pennsylvania Woman Lands Blow on Males.” Pocono Record (Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania), February 2, 1975, p. 15. [Newspapers.com]
25. “Boxing.” Lowell Sun, January 2, 1973, p. 6740. [Newspapers.com]
26. Lennox Blackmoore interview with Malissa Smith, July 10, 2013.
27. Jay Searcy. “‘Lady Tyger,’ 135 Pounds, Launches a Ring Career: Women in Sport.” New York Times, May 5, 1974, p. S6. [ProQuest]
28. Peter Coutros. “Missticuffs on Mulberry St.” Daily News, September 3, 1974. n.p. [Folder: Fighters / Lady Tyger Trimiar. Box 45, Series 13. Fistic Arcana. Hank Kaplan Archive, Brooklyn College Archives and Special Collections, Brooklyn College Library.]
29. Bill Verigan. “Fem Boxing May Bloom in Garden.” Daily News, October 6, 1974, p. 4C. [Folder: Fighters / Lady Tyger Trimiar. Box 45, Series 13. Fistic Arcana. Hank Kaplan Archive, Brooklyn College Archives and Special Collections, Brooklyn College Library.]
30. “The Ladies Want to Fight.” Morning Herald, October 8, 1974, p.16. [Newspapers.com]
31. “Woman Sues New York for Boxing License.” Tampa Times, December 26, 1974. [Folder: Fighters / Jackie Tonawanda. Box 45, Series 13. Fistic Arcana. Hank Kaplan Archive, Brooklyn College Archives and Special Collections, Brooklyn College Library.]
32. Garrett v. New York State Athletic Commission. Supreme Court, New York County, New York, Special Term, Part I. June 16, 1975. 82 MISC.2d 524 370 N.Y.S.2d 795 [WestLawNext]
33. “Girl Boxer Loses Round.” Raleigh Register, January 22, 1975, p. 19. [Newspapers.com]
34. Garrett v. New York State Athletic Commission. Supreme Court, New York County, New York, Special Term, Part I. June 16, 1975. 82 MISC.2d 524 370 N.Y.S.2d 795 [WestLawNext]
35. Lena Williams. “Woman Boxer Set to Meet Male Foe.” New York Times, June 1, 1975, p. S20. [ProQuest]
36. Jane Perlez. “Jackie Finally Gets a Fight.” New York Post, June 6, 1975, p. 64. [Folder: Fighters / Jackie Tonawanda. Box 45, Series 13. Fistic Arcana. Hank Kaplan Archive, Brooklyn College Archives and Special Collections, Brooklyn College Library.]
37. Lena Williams. “Equal Status May Spur Interest in Women’s Sports Injuries.” New York Times, June 15, 1975, p. S4. [ProQuest]
38. “Woman Boxer Waits for License.” Reno Evening Gazette, July 4, 1975, p. 19. [Newspapers.com]
39. Sue TL Fox. “Archived Exclusive Interview with Bill Dickson.” Women Boxing Archive Network. May 20, 1999. [WBAN.com]
40. “People in Sports: 500 Hitter Decides Game’s Not for Him.” New York Times, July 12, 1975, p. 18. [ProQuest]
41. “Lady Boxer Needs a Foe.” Buck’s County Courier, September 6, 1975, p. 9. [Newspapers.com]
42. Steve Sneddon. “Caroline Svendsen Scared?” Reno Evening Gazette, September 17, 1975, p. 22.
43. “The Ladies Take to the Ring in Four-Round Bout Night.” Joseph Gazette, September 19, 1975, p. 14. [Google News]
44. Steve Sneddon. “Strategy Is Simple for Svendsen’s Debut.” Reno Evening Gazette, September 18, 1975, p. 25 [Newspapers.com]
45. “Boxing Match between Women Ends Quickly.” Beaver County Times, September 19, 1975, p. 29. [Google News]
46. Steve Sneddon. “Svendsen No Longer a Curiosity.” Reno Evening Gazette, September 20, 1975, p. 8 [Newspapers.com]
47. “Ladies’ Match Tentatively Set.” Eugene Register-Guard, October 3, 1975. [Google News]
48. “Sock It to Her!” Journal (Meridan, Connecticut), October 9, 1975, p. 7. [Google News]
49. “Uppercuts, Not Powderpuffs Selection of Distaff Pugilists.” Daily Chronicle (Centralia, Washington), October 23, 1975, p. 9. [Newspapers.com]
50. “Caroline Svendsen Wins Second Professional Fight.” Reno Evening Gazette, October 24, 1975, p.14 [Newspapers.com]
51. “It’s Caroline Svendsen by Unanimous Decision.” Times Standard (Eurika, California), October 24, 1975, p. 4. [Google News]
52. “Women Win the Right to Box.” Gallup Independent, November 15, 1975, p. 7. [Newspapers.com]
53. “A.A.U. Acts on Woman Boxer.” New York Times, March 28, 1975, p. 45. [ProQuest]
54. Michael G. Lacey. “Okay, All the Boys in One Corner and This Girl in the Other.” Tucson Daily Citizen, June 14, 1975, p. 32. [Newspapers.com]
55. “ASU Coed Boxer Willing to Fight.” Yuma Daily, March 30, 1975, p. 18. [Newspapers.com]
56. Michael G. Lacey. “Okay, All the Boys in One Corner and This Girl in the Other.” Tucson Daily Citizen, June 14, 1975, p. 33. [Newspapers.com]
57. Time O’Mara. “‘Not My Idea’ Her Boxing Career Technically at End.” Tucson Daily Citizen, December 13, 1974, p. 12. [Newspapers.com]
58. Greg Oliver. “Remembering the Full Life of Princess Tona Tomha.” Slam! Wrestling. [Slam.canoe.ca]
59. “Female Boxing Bout Called Off.” Milwaukee Journal, November 1, 1975, p. 15 [Google News]
60. “Girls Match Off.” Bryan Times, November 8, 1975, p. 5. [Google News]
61. Kevin Lane. “Controversy Reigns: Girls’ Fight Dropped.” Anderson Herald, November 8, 1975, p. 8. [Newspapers.com]
62. “Fight Her First, Last: Crumes Scores KO.” Anderson Herald, November 10, 1975, p. 17. [Newspapers.com]
63. “Boxing Issue Skirted?” Milwaukee Journal, November 18, 1975, p. 13. [Google News]
64. Tracy Dodds. “Substitute Opponent No Test for Finch.” Milwaukee Journal
, December 9, 1975, p. 19. [Google News]
65. Phil Cash. “Women Boxers No Hit with Fans.” Milwaukee Sentinel, December 9, 1975, p. 9. [Google News]
Chapter 7
A Ring of Their Own
I didn’t even know I had a black eye until I looked in the mirror. Then I thought, oh well, I’ll just take out my makeup. . . . I proved I had tough skin.
—Pat Pineda, age twenty-two, San Pedro, California.[1]
As the 1970s advanced into the 1980s, women continued to advocate for the right to box professionally in the United States, as well as to open the door to amateur competition. States such as California and New York finally acquiesced and let women in the ring—although not without controversy. Female fighters were less successful when it came to amateur contests, and while individual state organizations allowed some women to enter amateur tournaments, the AAU continued to cite dubious medical reasons for keeping female fighters out of its contests. In one instance, nineteen-year-old Jill Lafler sued to compete at the Golden Gloves amateur tournament on the basis of sex discrimination only to have her case denied by the U. S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan when they sided with the prevailing view and allowed the continued exclusion of women from amateur competition.
On another front, female fighters were castigated as “women’s libbers,” an uneasy moniker that was fraught with political meaning at a time of huge transition in the place of women in American society.
Be Careful What You Wish For
For the women who successfully campaigned to enter the boxing ring, a chance to box often meant they were entering the ring as professionals with little or no ring knowledge. Many others were lured by a combination of their own enthusiasm and the excitement of seeing women slugging it out on television or reading about it in the newspaper. This desire to box met up, in some cases, with unscrupulous promoters cashing in on the novelty by adding women’s bouts to fight cards. Unfortunately, promoters’ desire to put a few more bodies in the seats meant that, at times, little or no concern was given to the actual fighting abilities of the women or for their safety. Fights also ranged from one-minute rounds to three-minute rounds, changing state by state and, in some cases, fight by fight, in a system that was haphazard at best—even though men’s fights had standard three-minute rounds with the exception of youth amateur contests.
Sue “Tiger Lily” Fox, a twenty-five-year-old mother of three, is a case in point: A woman who entered boxing with enthusiasm, but felt “sucker-punched” after her first bout, and though she went on to a successful career in boxing, it took its toll.[2] Fox was a black belt in karate whose first experience in the ring was not so dissimilar to Karen Mast’s professional debut bout in Arizona. Fox had been a competitor in light-contact competitions throughout the Northwest and was just beginning to participate in full-contact matches. Overall she had been undefeated in a total of about thirty amateur karate bouts.
Making her home at the time in Vancouver, Washington, Fox was watching the news one evening when video highlights of Caroline Svendsen’s bout against Jean Lange were aired. In a recent interview, Fox said, “I saw it on TV and it was absolutely amazing, though I have to tell you, thinking about it now, the boxing was terrible! At the time I thought it was great.”[3]
Here were two female boxers who were paid to box for four rounds—when, as she put it, “I was actually paying to fight in karate tournaments!”
The next day she set out to find a boxing gym, which eventually brought her to the attention of a man claiming to be a women’s boxing fight manager named “Abe T.” He seemed to her to be very nice and accommodating, but as Fox explained, “Little did I know, my newly-found manager did not appear to have my interests at heart.”[4]
Sue was hoping to get a fight with Caroline Svendsen or Jean Lange, figuring that she would have a chance given that their skill levels were about on par with her own—basically nil. Unable or unwilling to put together a bout with either Svendsen or Lange, Abe told Sue of a fighter named Theresa “Princess Red Star” Kibby, twenty-two, from California, who was looking for her first fight. Kibby also saw the fight between Svendsen and Lange, and had actually been in the stands. Abe talked up Kibby to Fox, mentioning that she had maybe a couple of years of boxing experience, but was basically a novice. Fox was happy with the prospect and excited by the idea of getting into the ring.
Setting the contest for February 12, 1976, the fight was promoted as “karate” versus “boxing”—something that harkened back to the rasso-boxing contest Jo Ann Hagen fought in at Council Bluffs. One important distinction was Fox would not be allowed to use any of her karate techniques in the ring other than punching. Perhaps because the fight was set up to pit a “black belt” against a “novice boxer,” no thought was given to Fox’s training, other than to have her continue with her normal karate regimen. This meant she had neither boxing training nor any time in an actual boxing ring in the weeks leading up to the fight.
Fox persevered, although she grew uneasy in the days before the fight when she learned that her opponent was from a prominent boxing family. As it turned out, Kibby’s father was a well-respected Native American boxing trainer named Dave Kibby Sr., who had founded the Del Norte Boys Club and managed the River’s End boxing and baseball teams. He also sat on the board of the Indian Action Council of Northwestern California, along with Theresa Kibby’s sister, Darlene Buckskin. Her two brothers, Dave Kibby Jr. and Roger Buckskin, also boxed professionally—and both would be fighting opponents on the same fight card as Kibby and Fox. If that wasn’t enough, Theresa Kibby had been boxing since she was a kid alongside her two brothers, and although she’d never had an actual official fight, she’d been sparring for years. As with other fighters of the period, she excelled in other sports and had played on the Smith River girls’ basketball team along with her sports-minded sisters who were also skilled in the science of the ring.
There were other surprises as well. The bout between Fox and Kibby was originally slated for four two-minute rounds—an oft-used practice for women’s bouts as they became legalized, though not standard by any means—but as the fight drew near, it was switched to four rounds of three minutes duration each. All of this proved to be a self-described “disaster” for Fox, who was outboxed at every turn and unable to defend herself from Kibby’s counterpunching abilities. By the third round the referee had seen enough and waved off the fight, giving Kibby the TKO win.
After the match, Fox was quoted as saying, “I’m glad they stopped it because I was getting woozy. But this was fun. When do I fight again?”[5] Years later, Fox put it this way:
The referee stopped the fight in the third round, after I was too stubborn to fall down. What was unfortunate for me . . . was that I had been duped, and by taking away my powerful [karate] leg kicks, I was just a “bad boxer.”[6]
Kibby was said to have “stalked her red-haired opponent relentlessly in the entertaining match that was the pro debut for both,” telling reporters, “This was all worth it, I can’t wait for my next fight.”[7]
In truth, Theresa Kibby had boxing pretty “wired up” by the time of her first bout, with a strong network of support and a proper training routine that included daily runs and plenty of opportunities to spar experienced male boxers. The strength of her family ties also meant that they had enough pull to see to it that her early fights would be family affairs. All of this meant her experiences were fairly unique. In California, boxing gym manager and trainer Dee Knuckles had been making a name by seeing to the training of young women at the San Pedro Locker Club—part of the Harbor View Housing Project community center in San Pedro, California. Knuckles (her real name by way of a marriage) attempted to provide the kind of support young male boxers received, though with mixed results.
Starting in 1974, at the behest of some local girls, Knuckles ran a boxing class for teenage girls and young women. Initially a once-a-week class, it became increasingly popular and grew to two evenings a week after
Knuckles enlisted a friend from the Los Angeles Police Department to train the girls. Eventually, her star pupil, a former “street fighter” named Pat Pineda, also helped lead the classes. The boxing students jumped rope, learned boxing fundamentals, and sparred, but most importantly, it gave “the girls [something] to do so they wouldn’t be standing on street corners”—a not uncommon theme for boxing programs aimed an adolescent boys.
A History of Women's Boxing Page 24