(OCT 30) Former Waterford, CT resident Liz Mueller is a humble individual. The retired former world champion doesn’t show up at boxing matches looking to sign autographs, or to have her former promoter call her into the ring to receive applause from the crowd.

In fact, she hasn’t attended a single fight card since she hung up the gloves in 2002. In her eyes, boxing was a past life and as such, she has since been living quietly in Massachusetts working in the mental health field.

However, she had to show up for a boxing-related event at Mohegan Sun Casino on October 18, even if she is shy about basking in past accomplishments. That’s because she headed the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame’s 2025 induction class.

Coincidentally, top female boxer Katie Taylor, who hails from Ireland but has a home in the Nutmeg State, was honored as the Professional Boxer of the Year.

“I’m super honored,” said Mueller, “That it’s all occurring on the same night. And I think what I have noticed about the talent of women fighters these days is that it’s gone up exponentially, and it’s amazing to see the sheer numbers of women that are involved in the sport.

Mueller poses next to fellow inductee Scott "Sandman" Pemberton

Inductees of the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame get plaques hung on Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame wall space at Mohegan and they also receive a more impressive looking plaque to take back home. Asked if Mueller has a spot in mind to display it, she told WomenBoxing.com, “You know, it’s taken a little bit, I think I kind of wrestle with, I don’t want to be the person that always focuses on their moments, but I think I will hang it.”

“I’ve kind of been able to see that you can be proud of your accomplishments and you’re not bragging,” Mueller said. “So I think that’s something I can do. I’ll find a spot for it.”

Mueller, a former track and cross-country star at Waterford High School, turned pro a quarter century ago after winning, among other accolades, a national Golden Gloves championship and a USA Boxing national championship.

At that time, Mueller’s parents weren’t too keen about their daughter taking punches for trophies and medals. How much hesitancy did they show for their daughter’s boxing dreams?

“Quite a bit,” said Mueller. “But you know, I think they were looking at my safety. Nobody in my family boxed. We did other sports. And I think people tend to look at boxing as this brutal sport, which it can be, but there’s also a lot of safety measures and if you have the right people in your corner, you can be really safe and really successful within the sport.”

Mueller’s mother told Liz at the outset of her amateur career that she wouldn’t attend any matches.

“I was like, ‘OK, I got that.’ And I think my dad went to one and he was like, ‘I can’t see you get hit.’ So he was not able to go but know he was there [at other matches] in spirit.”

Mueller would put the same focus into boxing that she had put into being a cross country and track and field athlete in high school, where she swept the Eastern Connecticut Conference, Class M and State Open and New England Championships for four straight years. She also won the Kinney Cross Country Championship national final in 1991 as a junior.

Mueller pursued cross country in college, at Central Connecticut State University, and had dreams of competing in the Olympics. However, she got injured, “took a year off and sort of limped back into running,” said Mueller. She subsequently stepped away from cross country and track and field competition and found boxing.

“I was injured, and I wanted to try to get back in shape and did not want to do that via running,” Mueller said. “I wanted to do that with something else. I had looked at various options and had heard boxing was a great cardiovascular workout, and so forth, so I had asked Bill Kane (who became her first pro trainer) to introduce me to Andy Macy, who ran Macy’s Gym.”

Macy and Mueller made an arrangement for Mueller to be a conditioning coach for the young boxers at the gym, “and so doing that I kind of taught them how to run and they taught me how to hit the bag and [encouraged me to try sparring].”

Mueller wanted to train in boxing, but didn’t necessarily have a desire to get in the ring and swap blows with anyone. However, “persistence kind of took over and then curiosity got the better of me,” said Mueller.

A number of the young guys at the gym were telling Mueller to spar with Andy Macy’s son, Tim, who was 11 or 12 at the time.

“They’re like, ‘You can just spar with Tim, it will be fine.’ I was like, OK,’ and of course Tim made me look incredibly out of place. He was a very skilled young boxer, and I just could not let that be my last sparring experience, so I kind of vowed to myself that I had to get better. And once I did, I kind of just started to really like the sport and really kind of fell in love with it for a short period of time.”

Besides the Golden Gloves and the USA Boxing national championships, Mueller said another thing she’s most proud of from her amateur days was getting “to compete on the first U.S. (women’s ) team and we competed at the World Cup in Finland (where she won a silver medal).”

“I think that’s one of my little treasures that I really value, that opportunity to represent the United States in that way,” she said.

Mueller would turn pro in January 2000, with a third-round stoppage of Anne Koenig at the Dressler Arena in Hartford. She won another three fights before stepping in the ring with women’s boxing icon Jane Couch of England in August 2000. Mueller won a six-round unanimous decision at Foxwoods Casino. Couch was a two-belt world lightweight champion less than a year prior. With the Couch victory, Mueller was now 5-0 as a pro. However, she would suffer her first setback in December 2000, a six-round split decision loss to Marischa Sjauw, who had won the IBA super lightweight title in October of that year. Mueller rebounded two months later with a six-round majority decision victory over future world champion Jaime Clampitt. She suffered the second loss of her career three months later, in a 10-round title fight against IBA lightweight champion Sumya Anani, who is best remembered for being the first person to defeat Christy Martin after Martin had exploded on the scene as a Don King-promoted fighter -fighting on Mike Tyson undercards – and earned a Sports Illustrated cover. Mueller got back in the win column with a six-round unanimous decision victory over Connie Bechtel in August 2001. Her next fight, a rematch with old rival Jaime Clampitt, took place at Foxwoods on December 7, 2001. Only this time, the vacant International Women’s Boxing Federation world lightweight championship was on the line. In an exciting scrap, Mueller emerged victorious, winning a unanimous decision by scores of 98-92 (twice) and 97-93.

Despite winning the world championship, Mueller never fought again, never made a title defense.

“I know at that time,” said Mueller, “While I was not in the sport for a very long time, I definitely wanted to do my part as much as I could to try to build the sport and just prove to people that women can fight and can be skilled fighters. And I think with some of the challengers, and again, back then, things were really falling into place, the amateur programs were getting up and running, but the numbers of women fighters just weren’t there, so it was really hard to find fights.”

She added, “And I know I really wanted to end on a positive note so I think when I had the opportunity to fight for that title, it just seemed like the right time to kind of step out because I could do so on my terms, and I feel really positive and proud that I was able to do what I could do in a short window of time.”

Sherman Cain, a longtime writer for the Journal Enquirer, covered Mueller throughout her career and offered introductory remarks at her induction.

“It was 25 years ago when I first heard about Liz Mueller becoming a boxer,” said Cain. “Like a lot of people, my first reaction was, ‘Liz Mueller the runner?’…Being the cynical journalist that I was I figured she’d take a couple of hooks to the body and then start looking for a little 5K [race] to run in, in Waterford, or Mystic, or New London, because when they’re chasing you in a cross country race, they’re chasing you to try to pass you. When they’re chasing you in a boxing ring, they’re chasing you to hurt you.”

Cain added, “But what I didn’t know is that Liz Mueller loved a challenge and she was determined to make her mark in boxing as she had done as a runner.” He noted that the well-respected New York Times, which had once covered her running exploits, did a piece about her success as an amateur boxer five years later. Cain said though her pro career was brief, she managed to claim a world title and “certainly earned her place in the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame.”

Photo Credit/Courtesy:  John "Ice" Scully

Former light-heavyweight title challenger John Scully, who became Mueller’s head trainer for the first Clampitt fight, had nothing but great things to say about Mueller, his first world champion fighter.

“She did everything I asked of her,” he told WomenBoxing.com. “She never questioned my instructions or training methods. She showed no fear or intimidation in any situation. She had the best mentality that any boxing trainer could ask for.”

At her October 18 induction, Mueller began her speech by saying, “I’m truly honored to be here this evening, to be among the Class of 2025 inductees. It’s an honor to join those that have come before and those still to come.“

Liz Mueller with her partner

As she was driving to Mohegan Sun for her induction, Mueller said she couldn’t help but think back to the last time she was at the casino for a boxing event, her second to last fight, against Connie Bechtel, “20-some-odd years ago.”

“And similar to tonight,” said Mueller, “Back then, we were all in a room, family and fans and coaches and spectators and officials, but there was also a ring, and at some point that evening, for the first time ever at Mohegan Sun, two women were allowed to enter the ring.”

“And when I think back to that night I am humbled,” she said, “Because I also think about all the women who came before, who bravely challenged the status quo, the women who defiantly fought inside and outside the ring to help legalize women’s boxing, and who continued to fiercely train and hone their skills and push themselves, even when they were told no. I think about everybody that came together to support women’s boxing.”

Liz Mueller posing with her partner (L) and friend (R)

Mueller noted that times have changed and that there are more opportunities for women boxers.

“It’s been really busy down at Mohegan Sun,” said Mueller, naming a number of women, past and present, from Connecticut, Rhode Island and beyond, that have showcased their skills and put on crowd-pleasing fights at the Mohegan Sun Arena, including rising contenders Stevie Jane Coleman and Amelia Moore.

“I don’t have time to name them all, and I think that’s kind of cool,” said Mueller.

Mueller went on to thank everyone that shaped her journey, in life and in boxing, “the people that tell us ‘yes’ even when we’re surrounded by doubt.”

CTBHOF President John Laudati, Sherman Cain

“It always amazes me the positive things that happen when we come together to support each other,” said Mueller. “In fact, there isn’t anything that we can’t overcome when we work together. That’s a lesson that boxing taught me. It takes a village to make a change happen and it takes a village to make a fighter.”

Mueller gave special shout-outs to Scully, the Macy family (Andy passed away in 2016), Earl Walsh (her amateur trainer), Bill Kane, and her promoter, Jimmy Burchfield.

“To my family and friends, thank you,” said Mueller, “Because without all of you, I never would have trained. Not in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be here this evening to accept this award. Thank you.”

Questions/Comments: kirklang@yahoo.com

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