Kellie Maloney plotting all female fight card for Belfast

Kellie Maloney wants to promote an all female fight card in Belfast this year.

Maloney, who guided the career of Lennox Lewis amongst others, has returned to boxing with Belfast’s world title hopeful Cathy McAleer.

The veteran manager and promoter, who has been out of the game for some years, revealed she was teaming up with the John Breen trained fighter last December.

The Londoner has already secured a February 22 date in Birmingham for the 42-year-old and has revealed plans to bring the former Karate, Kickboxer and MMA competitor of note back to Belfast as a bill topper.

Speaking this week to Newschain Maloney said she was planning an all female fight card for the fight mad city.

“I want to be the first promoter to promote an all women’s boxing show. That’s my ambition for this year, which would probably take place in Belfast with Cathy hopefully topping the bill for a title,” she said.

The female stacked card could also prove good news for the likes of Katelynn Phelan and Siobhan O’Leary who both trade leather on seperate cards next week.

However, it may not be the first all female fight card as there appear to be plans to run one in America this coming spring.

Regardless it’s a positive step for female and Irish boxing as the link up between McAleer and Maloney seems to be.

It appears McAleer pushed for the experienced fight makers help and persuaded Maloney, who was the late great Darren Sutherland’s promoter, to return to the game.

“I said even though I’m out of boxing, there is something intriguing me here.

“So I took 48 hours to think about things. I spoke to my daughters, because they know the stress I went through before with the heart attack I had due to boxing, the death of Darren Sutherland, injuries to a couple of my boxers – and they said since I’ve been out of boxing I’ve been a totally relaxed chilled person.

“I jokingly said ‘I can get back into boxing or I can go into I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’, and they instantly said ‘I think you should do the boxing’!”

“I see this as a long-term operation. We’ve signed a three-year contract and I believe as long as I do my job right and Cathy can fight how I think she can fight, I think she can go a long way.”

Maloney’s return to the game and particularly to the female side of boxing hasn’t been welcomed by all.

There are those still upset with her views she aired on women’s boxing previously. Female fight pioneer Jane Couch has been particularly vocal about comments made back in 1998.

At the time Maloney said: “I think it is absolutely disgusting that women are being allowed to fight. If anything happens during a women’s fight there will be calls for a ban and all those left-wing, do-gooder lesbians who have been fighting Jane Couch’s case will be the first to complain.

“The only women you’ll find in a ring at one of my fights are very pretty ring-card girls.”

Maloney has since apologised for the aforementioned comments on more than one occasion and is now focused on having a positive impact on women’s boxing.

“Time moves on. People that hold grudges are far worse than the people who can stand up and admit they were wrong. It was a different era, a different person, a different time, in different circumstances.”

“I’m motivated by achievements and putting things right in my life. So, I took on all the big promoters and won against all the odds with Lennox Lewis.”