(MAY 30) LOS ANGELES - The first woman professional boxing judge in
the world, Carol Polis’s life is one of personal triumph against
long odds. In The Lady is a Champ (Velocity Publishing Group,
$19.99), she pulls no punches. It’s a sports story that will
inspire women and a woman’s story that will floor boxing fans.
Having officiated 27 title fights plus two high-profile
non-title heavyweight fights with Mike Tyson and Larry Holmes,
Polis, a single parent and recent cancer survivor, has an
amazing, historically significant story to tell.
The 1970s were a time of great upheaval for women. There was Roe
v. Wade and the Equal Rights Amendment. There were Gloria
Steinem, Billie Jean King, Golda Meir, and Carol Polis.
In 1971, Carol Polis married a part-time professional boxing
referee. Within two years, she went from being a squeamish
spectator to a professional boxing judge—the first woman ever to
do so. As luck would have it, not only was this period the
golden age of women’s rights, it was also the golden age of
boxing. Carol Polis had a ringside seat for all of it. Sometimes
she was the main event.
From cutting her teeth on three-round undercard fights at the
gritty Blue Horizon in Philadelphia to finding herself at the
center of a riot at Madison Square Garden; from being schooled
in Joe Frazier’s sweat drenched gym on North Broad Street to
officiating in a Don King tournament and being investigated by
the FBI; from following the careers of local fighters like
Boogaloo Watts and Willie “the Worm” Monroe to becoming a
personal guest of Muhammad Ali; from speaking at the nearby
Rotary Club to appearing as a contestant on What’s My Line and
To Tell the Truth, five-foot-one, 115-pound Carol Polis, for
better or for worse, was treated as an ambassador for all women,
a novelty, and even a misfit.
Polis was bound by none of these labels. First and foremost,
Carol Polis was a mom. When her marriage breaks up in 1977,
Polis’s life becomes more a matter of survival than knockouts.
It is while keeping a roof over her kids’ heads and later
raising her grandson that Polis earns her heavyweight belt. The
ultimate challenge, it turns out, comes not from attaining
stature as a world class sports figure but from becoming a world
class juggler.
Carol Polis outdistances the ‘70s. Then the ‘80s and ‘90s,
eventually officiating at a staggering twenty-seven title fights
in nine countries. Like the era she leaves behind, she leaves
the uncomfortable title of women’s libber in the dust. Polis is,
rather, an accidental pioneer—someone who attains greatness not
by seeking celebrity or confrontation but rather by being
herself.
Carol B. Polis is the first woman professional boxing judge in
the world. She lives in a Philadelphia suburb and is available
for interviews.
Rich Herschlag is the author of nine books including Sinatra,
Gotti and Me; How Dare You Say How Dare Me, the memoir of
renowned comedian Pat Cooper; Before the Glory; The Interceptor
and Lay Low and Don't Make the Big Mistake.
The Lady is Champ by Carol B. Polis and Rich Herschlag
ISBN: 978-1-4675-0100-2
Published by Velocity Publishing Group, Inc.
320-page paperback retailing for $19.99.
For further information and/or to schedule an interview, contact
Andrew Klein at (877) 318-8007 or email:
andrewrk@mac.com
