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Kellie Maloney makes return to boxing: ‘The personal challenge is very big’ Kellie Maloney makes return to boxing: ‘The personal challenge is very big’
(less than a minute earlier)
Kellie Maloney has confirmed her comeback as a boxing promoter by unveiling two fighters at a London press conference, admitting she faces “a very big personal challenge” in returning to the sport.Kellie Maloney has confirmed her comeback as a boxing promoter by unveiling two fighters at a London press conference, admitting she faces “a very big personal challenge” in returning to the sport.
Maloney, who went public last August with the news that she was undergoing gender reassignment, is resuming a career that has included guiding Lennox Lewis to world heavyweight titles in the 1990s.Maloney, who went public last August with the news that she was undergoing gender reassignment, is resuming a career that has included guiding Lennox Lewis to world heavyweight titles in the 1990s.
Under her previous name Frank, she ended a 30-year career in October 2013, handing back licences to the British Boxing Board of Control after growing disillusioned with the sport.Under her previous name Frank, she ended a 30-year career in October 2013, handing back licences to the British Boxing Board of Control after growing disillusioned with the sport.
Related: Kellie Maloney: ‘I achieved a lot as Frank. I could never totally lose him’Related: Kellie Maloney: ‘I achieved a lot as Frank. I could never totally lose him’
Unveiling her latest fighters – Gary Cornish, 28, from Inverness and Tony Jones, 23, from Telford – Maloney said: “If I put it in football terms, I’ve been the manager of Manchester United and now I’m going to start managing Nuneaton Borough because I’ve got to start at the bottom again and there’s no getting away from that. The opportunity and personal challenge for me is very big.”Unveiling her latest fighters – Gary Cornish, 28, from Inverness and Tony Jones, 23, from Telford – Maloney said: “If I put it in football terms, I’ve been the manager of Manchester United and now I’m going to start managing Nuneaton Borough because I’ve got to start at the bottom again and there’s no getting away from that. The opportunity and personal challenge for me is very big.”
Asked how she would feel if some people suggested her gender reassignment was a “marketing ploy”, she replied: “If the people who think that want to go through what I’ve been through they are welcome to try it and let them walk in my shoes and see how hard it is. If it was a marketing ploy I should be locked up in a lunatic asylum.”Asked how she would feel if some people suggested her gender reassignment was a “marketing ploy”, she replied: “If the people who think that want to go through what I’ve been through they are welcome to try it and let them walk in my shoes and see how hard it is. If it was a marketing ploy I should be locked up in a lunatic asylum.”
Maloney told the BBC she had been “overwhelmed” by support from the lower levels of boxing, “but the top of the hierarchy has been less supportive. I don’t know if they’re worried or what. Nothing has been said but you can just tell by the way they look at you or when you speak to them on the telephone.Maloney told the BBC she had been “overwhelmed” by support from the lower levels of boxing, “but the top of the hierarchy has been less supportive. I don’t know if they’re worried or what. Nothing has been said but you can just tell by the way they look at you or when you speak to them on the telephone.
“I’ve seen interviews where you could tell certain people wanted to make a comment but couldn’t. You get very good at reading people’s facial expressions. It does make me laugh, it’s actually quite funny.”“I’ve seen interviews where you could tell certain people wanted to make a comment but couldn’t. You get very good at reading people’s facial expressions. It does make me laugh, it’s actually quite funny.”
Maloney also said she was “a better person and a nicer person” than Frank was, adding: “I’m a lot more understanding, have a lot more acceptance of people and situations. I’m not going to let my mouth go into gear before my brain.Maloney also said she was “a better person and a nicer person” than Frank was, adding: “I’m a lot more understanding, have a lot more acceptance of people and situations. I’m not going to let my mouth go into gear before my brain.
“[But] I’ve never been frightened to take on the establishment and I’m not frightened to do it again. And I’d like to bring a bit of fun back to boxing. My goal is to produce a champion in the next 18 months and to enjoy boxing this time, instead of letting boxing wear me out and cause me health problems, like it did last time.”“[But] I’ve never been frightened to take on the establishment and I’m not frightened to do it again. And I’d like to bring a bit of fun back to boxing. My goal is to produce a champion in the next 18 months and to enjoy boxing this time, instead of letting boxing wear me out and cause me health problems, like it did last time.”
Maloney was also asked about her voting intentions at the general election, having received a standing ovation for a speech at Ukip’s conference earlier this year in Margate, Kent.Maloney was also asked about her voting intentions at the general election, having received a standing ovation for a speech at Ukip’s conference earlier this year in Margate, Kent.
“I am not a Ukip member,” she said. “I’m not here as a political person. I’m more interested in boxing promotion. I’m not even sure who I’m going to vote for myself.”“I am not a Ukip member,” she said. “I’m not here as a political person. I’m more interested in boxing promotion. I’m not even sure who I’m going to vote for myself.”