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She played “Eye Of The Tiger” at her first piano recital, so maybe that was
it. Or perhaps the early fights, when twins Jen and Jon Childers stole away
to Grandma’s basement and sparred with a single set of boxing gloves.
Grandma believed her sweet little things were downstairs playing bible
trivia; instead they were faithfully beating each other up. Or maybe the
cruelty of children landed the prophetic punch. Jen Childers was too tall
too soon – 6’2” by the seventh grade. Those kids were the first to give
Childers the motivation to fight.
Photo Credit: Bilde
Using her height to her advantage, Childers received a full-ride basketball
scholarship to Murray State University. Upon leaving Murray State, Childers
began looking something like the Amazon version of The Pillsbury Dough Boy;
she weighed 260 pounds and was desperately searching for a way to lose
weight. After a shift working at the local newspaper, Childers walked across
the street to the local Community Center and began a boxercise workout.
Childers lost nearly 100 pounds in two years and along the way a boxing
trainer and a commissioner spotted her and asked her to compete in the
Indiana Golden Gloves.
Childers rose to the challenge and was immediately successful, winning the
1996 Amateur Golden Gloves Title. She was awarded a professional contract
later with Berns Boxing that year only to find out that since she was a
female she would have to change certain laws to become a professional boxer.
Indiana Boxing Commissioner Jacob Hall changed those laws to allow her to
become Indiana’s first licensed professional female boxer. Childers compiled
an undefeated record of 7-0 (4KO’s).
In 1997, Childers was awarded “Prospect Of The Year” by the World Boxing
Association, the first time a woman had been so honored by the oldest and
most respected organization in boxing. Childers’ pioneering efforts gained
her exposure on HBO Real Sports alongside fellow combatants Christy Martin
and Lucia Rijker.
Childers career gained her much national coverage in print as well, and she
was able to secure a professional modeling contract along the way. About the
attention lavished on Childers because of her looks, “That was AFTER I lost
100 pounds. It’s sad how differently people treated me when I weighed 260
pounds vs. 160 pounds. People don’t know how many years I worked in the gym
alone crying while I hit the heavy bag because I was so big and ridiculed so
often because of my size”.
Childers gave birth to a daughter, Jaren in 1999. In 2005, she began her own
boxing promotional company, Childers Promotions, LLC. Her first event
features Daniel Maldonado, female boxing sensation Kristy Follmar and
Backlin Medrano, managed by Christy and Jim Martin. Childers is making a
statement that Women in boxing can be more than round card girls. In fact,
Childers was the first woman boxer to have “Round Card BOYS” when she fought
at Philadelphia’s famous fight venue, The Blue Horizon.
“The fans hated it, they threw things, booed the guys but hey it’s all about
equality”. She is training hard and looking forward to returning to the ring
later this year.
Stats on Childers:
Height: 6’2” /
Weight Division: Light Heavyweight /DOB: 11/10/73 /
Birthplace: Madison, TN /
Residence: Evansville, IN /Began Boxing: 1994 /Style: Boxer-puncher /
Pro Record: 7-0 (4KO’s) /Nickname: Raging Belle /Trainer: Danny Thomas |
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