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03/25/2004 Archived Entry: "MOLLY McCONNELL SIGNS WITH KALLEN"
MOLLY McCONNELL SIGNS WITH KALLEN
By Katherine Dunn
Word surfaced this week that amateur star Molly McConnell –-the 2002 National Golden Gloves and 2004 National PAL Champ at 145 lbs—-has signed to turn pro with famed manager Jackie Kallen. The recently released film "On The Ropes" is based on Kallen’s experience as a woman managing pro boxers including the young middleweight James Toney. Kallen also served a term as head of the International Female Boxing Association sanctioning body.
Molly McConnell fights out of the West Portland Boxing Club in Portland, Oregon and is trained by coach Bill Meartz. The CBZ asked Molly if the rumor of her signing with Kallen was true. This was her e-mail reply:
"Yes, it is indeed true.
Bill had contacted her a while back and corresponded a bit. She was busy with the release of her movie so she didn't get back to us. Then I decided that I'd take one last stab at it and write her a letter myself. She contacted me a couple of days later and we talked on the phone for quite a while. I sent her a tape of a few of my fights and she offered me a contract the next day.
I'm pretty excited about it. I think she will do good things for me. We were going to fight in April, but I still have to get licensed in California so I think she is looking at the beginning of May. If they can't get anything then, we are just going to wait til the Chinook Winds Casino show in Lincoln City, OR in June. The Casino is really excited to have me on the card and that was one of their requirements for whoever promoted the show. Turns out it's going to be Goosen. And I think it's going to be on Showtime. I had all these visions of making my pro debut in a barn somewhere out in the middle of Putzville with like 50 spectators and now instead it may be on Showtime. Great. As if the debut itself weren't stressful enough! But I'm excited anyway. Hopefully I'll perform well and things will take off after that. Anyway, thanks for asking!"
Long time Portland manager Michael "Motormouth" Morton urged McConnell to sign with Kallen. Morton’s wife, Lynn explained that Morton had been helping McConnell as a friend but that many managers refused to let their women fight the hard-banging amateur champ. "Jackie knows the women’s sport and she’ll be able to get Molly the attention she deserves,"said Lynn Morton.
McConnell also wrote:I think I'm going to Rochester next weekend to do some sparring with Dakota Stone. She called Bill and asked if there was anyway we could come down to her gym. I'm pretty excited about it, although I've been sick this past week so I'm not in top condition. Hopefully she won't beat me up too bad. I think it will be a great opportunity for me to test my skills against one of the best out there. Plus, it will be interesting for me to feel what 160-165 pounds of female boxer feels like. I'm so used to sparring with the guys and they generally hit much harder. I'll let you know how it goes."
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