International Females Boxers Association

By Brett Lyle

IT’S NOT just that Chevelle Hallback doesn’t hit like a girl, it’s that she hits so hard, her opponents wonder if Hallback is one.
The first time Hallback ever stepped into the ring, giving away six inches to her much larger opponent and only having made weight by taping two five-pound weights to her legs inside of her sweatpants, Hallback went after Goliath like a pit bull, punching so incredibly quickly and so viciously that the fight was over in :47. Hallback by knockout.
Her opponent’s corner immediately raised an objection: they were convinced Hallback hit too hard to be a girl.
A naturally muscular gym rat who was finely cut from heavy workouts, and sporting a short haircut, Hallback was stunned. The pre-fight doctor was livid. “That’s a woman, she’s a girl,” he told anyone who would listen. But the female boxing commissioner wasn’t satisfied and demanded an up-close inspection.
Hallback was forced the indignity of removing her shorts for visual confirmation.
Femininity confirmed.
Then again, it shouldn’t have been much of a surprise that Hallback hit like a man – she was used to hitting, and getting hit by, men. This bout was the first time she had ever fought against a woman.
CHEVELLE HALLBACK was seven years old, supposed to be long asleep when she heard staccato yelling from the next room. “Hit ‘em back, hit ‘em back.”
Inquisitive, she popped out of bed and peered through her mother’s slightly open door. The great Muhammad Ali was fighting Michael Spinks in what would become the 1978 Fight of the Year. Hallback vividly remembers bobbing and weaving in the hallway, mimicking the fighters, shifting side to side.
“I thought, ‘I can do that.’ I go to bed and I’m throwing punches. Ever since then it was what I wanted to do,” Hallback recalls. 
But there was no place for Hallback to “do that.” It would be 15 years before USA Boxing would officially recognize women in the sport, so the instant love of boxing lingered in the back of Hallback’s mind, an ambition without an avenue.
Years later, gathered with friends on a Saturday night to watch Mike Tyson obliterate whatever fool had made the unfortunate decision to step into a ring against him, Hallback stops in her tracks when she sees the fighters enter the ring for the undercard: Christy Martin and Deidre Gogarty
“I’m looking and I’m looking. Are those two women fighting? Are you serious?” Hallback remembers just staring at the television, her mind churning with surprise and possibilities.
That Monday she walked into Tampa’s highly-regarded Calta’s Boxing Gym, where champions like Antonio Tarver and Jeff Lacey learned the sport, and approached the head trainer. “I want to box. I’m going to box. And I’m going to be a world champion she told him.”
If she wanted it, she was going to have to earn it. The men took no mercy on Hallback. They went at her physically and mentally, challenging her at every turn. Taunting her.  Trying to get her to quit.
They’d be in her face: You want to be in our gym? You want to call yourself a boxer? Nah, you’re just a girl.
“These guys were out to break me mentally. Whenever I’d get into the ring, they’d try to knock my head off. And they couldn’t. That made me a much better fighter. They’re trying to change my mind from boxing because they didn’t think I belonged there, but I did belong there. After a while, I earned their respect. They no longer saw me as a female boxer, they saw me as a boxer.”
It was that training that turned Hallback’s hands into concrete blocks and led her to a 27-5-2 record with 11 knockouts. She’s captured five world titles, including her current standing as the IFBA Lightweight Champion.
NOW 38 YEARS OLD, having reached her goal of becoming a world champion, Hallback still has one more goal left: to fight on noted boxing television powerhouse HBO.
“There’s never been a female fight on HBO. Showtime, ESPN, every other network has featured a female fight. They say they don’t believe in it; say it’ll never happen. I believe in breaking down barriers. I’m a sky is the limit type of person. I believe that one day it’ll happen.”
But maybe her goal shouldn’t be to fight on HBO, but instead on NBC.
In August 2009, the news came down from the International Olympic Committee that women’s boxing would become a recognized Olympic sport for the 2012 games in London.  Though sports like basketball and tennis allow professionals to compete, Olympic boxing is strictly for amateurs, something Hallback is hoping the IOC will reconsider for female boxers.
“If they allow professional boxers to compete, I’m going to fight for a spot,” said Hallback. “If I was to win the gold, it would really pass all the expectations, goals and dreams I’ve set for myself.  This will definitely help pave the way for female boxers. I think my prayers have been answered.”