Jackie Kallen is a boxing pioneer and this year the famous fight manager will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Kallen famously led James Toney to a world title. The journey started in 1988 and the mission was completed in May 1991, when Toney upset Michael Nunn to win the IBF middleweight world title. Moving a fighter that quickly without an Olympic medal in the modern era seems almost impossible nowadays.
Kallen reflects on how boxing has since changed.
“The days of the four kings in the ‘80s and the James Toneys in the 90s – I don’t think we are going to see that again,” said Kallen. “It is a different era. Today’s fighters don’t want to fight anybody.”
The modern fighter values the undefeated record more than ever. Promoters do, too. Fights, for better or worse, amongst the big names in the sport only happen when enough money is involved. What happens is a prolonged build-up to a good fight, followed by the dreaded word for a fight fan, marination.
“Everyone wants to protect their wins,” furthered Kallen. “When they say someone’s 0 has got to go – no one wants to put themselves in that position. They pad their records with a lot of meaningless wins against guys 6-18 and stuff like that, so they can say they are undefeated.”
Now factor in the splintered nature of the sport. Boxing used to have a lot of means of distribution. It was also much more accessible. Boxing now exists on ESPN (and ESPN+), DAZN, Amazon Prime, ProBox TV and other streaming outlets. ESPN is the last frontier of a fan stumbling into a boxing match.
“There are fewer fights,” Kallen continued. “Obviously there is no more Showtime, there is no more HBO, there is no more ABC Wide World of Sports. There are very few places where they can be seen across the board on free TV. You have to subscribe, you have to have a live stream. It is harder to build a fighter and have him nationally known outside of the boxing world. It is much, much harder.”
Boxing doesn’t seem to matter like it once did.
Fewer fight dates mean fewer chances to fight. The role of a promoter is now more important than ever. Every fighter needs an investor. The race to the top is now more competitive than ever.
“You have to be signed with a promoter because if you don’t have a promoter, you have to call around to get on cards,” said Kallen. “If the promoter has no interest in you financially, why would they want to fly you to their city, put you on a card, get you a win, if [you are] not their fighter. So every promoter has their own stable, and they use their fighters. So either you go in as an opponent, or you have to sign with a specific promoter to get the number of fights you want per year.”
In the past, boxing allowed fighters to stay active – take risks early in their career. Now the sport, for better or worse, seems eager to position fighters with imperfect records into a premature gatekeeper status. The business has changed.
“If you want to stay active in whatever business you are – you have to grow with the changes,” reflected Kallen. “So I have just adapted to the new boxing scene.”
Kallen still manages. She led junior welterweight Mykquan Williams to the biggest win of his career in January when Williams stopped Luis Feliciano in the sixth round of their main event fight on ProBox TV.