(OCT 1) In the world of pugilism, boxers have various milestones, their pro debut, their
first belt of any variety, their first world title, and so on.
Connecticut-based welterweight Stevie Jane Coleman is a fighter on the rise, but
she recently achieved a milestone – a top ten world ranking, ranked 9th with the
WBO rankings.
She entered the WBO rankings in August as the 9th ranked welterweight, and not
long before that, earned a spot as the 8th best welterweight, according to the
WBA.
Photo credit: Kirk Lang
“It’s amazing,” she said. “It’s definitely motivation to keep climbing the
ladder to reach that number one spot.”
Coleman’s parents, Stephen and Ivy, at one time “didn’t really like the fact
that I boxed but now they’re super supportive.”
“They were happy to see I made the top ten,” said Coleman.
She has come a long way from the young girl that wanted to box like her brothers
but had to earn her way to the gym.
“I used to ask my parents all the time. It was a ‘no’ since I was 13,” said
Coleman, who is the youngest of seven. “I kept asking. Finally, he said I had to
run and shadowbox for a year.
She had to run three miles a day, with only one day off a week.
“I was a chubby kid so when I first started, I couldn’t even run a mile or do a
push-up,” she said.
Once she proved her dedication, her dad said, ‘I gotta take her now,’” Coleman
said. She was 16 at the time.
Photo credit: Kirk Lang
Now 24 years old, Coleman is on the cusp of fighting for a world title.
She has put in the work with her trainer, Paul Cichon, and her strength and
conditioning coach, Carmen Dorothy, to make it this far.
“Stevie is an unbelievable hard worker,” said Cichon. She’s dedicated, I always
joke with her and say she’s a pain in my [butt] because if she has to take a day
off for medicals, like she has to do tomorrow (Friday), she wants to come in on
Saturday or Sunday just to make up for that day. That’s how dedicated she is.
“She’s very, very dedicated. She loves to learn. The harder I push her, the more
she loves it.”
Cichon takes pride in the recent top ten rankings by the WBA and the WBO.
“I’m extremely proud,” he said. “For somebody with the lack of experience she
has, she’s accomplished quite a bit.”
Although Coleman, 6-1 (2), won a New England Golden Gloves championship as an
amateur, she only had a total of 10 fights in the unpaid ranks.
For Cichon, Coleman is only his third fighter, male or female, to earn a top ten
ranking. He previously reached the milestone with Matt Remillard, now retired, and
Mykquan Williams, a talented junior welterweight who is looking to rebound from
an upset loss to Antonio Moran earlier this year.
“I’m kind of looking forward to the next level and that’s going to be up to
Jimmy Burchfield (Coleman’s promoter),” said Cichon. “He’s helping guide her to
the top.”
While Coleman earned her top ten ranking at welterweight, she and Cichon have
decided that she will be going down a division, to junior welterweight.
“After her involvement in Team Combat League, we decided to go down to 140,”
said Cichon. “Right now, they’ve got a fight for her in Puerto Rico, at 147, but
I don’t want it. She said she wants to fight at 140, and that’s what she’s going
to do.”
He added, “You want to be on the high side of your own weight class. You know
what I mean? You don’t want to be a small 147. I want her to be the bigger one
when she gets in the ring.”
Coleman concurs.
“Moving down in weight is going to be better for me I think because I keep my
power,” she said.
Although Coleman had a relatively brief amateur career, she has been making up
for it, getting valuable lessons sparring with one of the best female fighters
in the world, Katie Taylor, as Taylor has a home in CT and trains at Cichon’s
Ring of Champions Society (ROCS) gym in Manchester.
“Working with Katie has been an amazing opportunity and I feel incredibly lucky
that I was able to so much,” said Coleman. “I definitely learned a lot from
her.”
Cichon and Coleman of course went to Madison Square Garden this past July to
support Taylor as she headlined a historic all women’s fight card at the
“World’s Most Famous Arena.”
“It was inspiring,” said Coleman, adding, “I do believe I’ll be there one day.”
Questions/Comments: kirklang@yahoo.com
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