By Bobby Hankinson
After delivering the one-two punch to the boxing world, the “First Lady of Boxing” Jackie Kallen is ready to knockout flm audiences across the country. The story of her life as a boxing manager is being portrayed in the film “Against the Ropes.”
Kallen, who has had a wide range of careers from rock journalist to public relations specialist, earned most of her notoriety when she blazed the trail for females in the boxing world. The adversity she encountered as a woman in a predominantly male field never slowed her down, she went on to manage championship fighters like Thomas “Hit Man” Hearns and James “Lights Out” Toney.
She continues to earn respect today. After completing her first book, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” Kallen is bracing herself to tackle the box office.
While Kallen initially questioned if Meg Ryan was “gritty” enough to play her, after seeing completion of the film, Kallen hails Ryan as doing a “great job.”
“She really captured my attitude and ability to stick up for myself,” Kallen said.
The film, which opened on Feb. 20, is not purely biographical and dramatizes portions of Kallen’s life to focus on her impact in the boxing world and her relationship with her fighters.
“To touch on all the things I’ve done, that would be like a trilogy, like ‘Lord of the Rings,'” Kallen said. “This particular movie, which is just a slice of my life, illustrates my drive, my belief in myself, my sense of adventure — I just think boxing was a great metaphor for that.”
The film also fails to reference Kallen’s marriage and two children, though Kallen said that would have complicated the story line. The most difficult change in the story for Kallen to deal with is her character’s sudden obsession with the spotlight.
“The character definitely gets off track in the middle of the movie,” Kallen said, referring to her character’s flaws in the film. “If she got her champion right away and had no obstacles, then where’s the lesson? Actually, where’s the movie?”
It wasn’t easy to see herself portrayed in such a negative light.
“Initially I thought the way I changed in the middle was painful to watch. I thought to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, do they have to make me look so egocentric?'”
Kallen is no stranger to learning lessons. When her husband left her after 32 years of marriage, she learned to place herself in the “big picture.”
“Rather than feel like a horrible victim and rejected, I looked at the big picture. How many [marriages] last 30 years? That’s not a bad record.”
This concept played a role once again when Kallen suffered a heart attack last year.
“I never one day said ‘oh gosh, why did this happen?’ I just put myself in the big picture. It’s not terminal, it’s fixable, it’s behind you now, next.”
Kallen said the audience will leave the film learning a few lessons of their own.
“Hopefully they will leave inspired,” she said, “I hope it encourages people to own their mistakes, take responsibility for them. You can redeem yourself. You can go back and right a wrong. You can succeed and still make mistakes.”
Though her personal success in boxing opened doors for women in the industry, Kallen said there is still room for growth in women’s roles in sports today; she said she would like to see women in higher administrative postions in the sports world and even managing entire sports teams.
“I just think women have a natural, nurturing quality and they are very good at peace keeping, arbitration and negotiation. So if you have problems on a team, I think a woman would be great at boosting morale,” Kallen said.
Kallen remains busy today. Currently, she’s involved in various charities, is developing a TV series and has written a Broadway musical. However, Kallen continues to stick with her first love, boxing, and still manages several fighters today.
While the future of women in sports is uncertain, Kallen’s spirit and drive is sure to win audiences over in “Against the Ropes.”
