"This
interview is about the mixed match that Jolene Blackshear had on a
televised program in 1999. I wanted to get the inside as to
why this exhibition match was made."
TL Fox
TL Fox: Why did you put
Jolene Blackshear in an exhibition match with Jeremy
Powell?
Cody: Because I knew that she could handle it with man or woman. And
Also, it was an opportunity to get her on TV to show her kickboxing
skills. One of the state athletic commissioners said that it was the
best match of the night.
TL Fox: Did the TV show approach you about a kickboxing match with
Jolene, or did you suggest this match to the television?
Cody: They came to me with it.
Dennis
Warner from Insync was involved, and the fight was sanctioned through
the IKKC (International Karate
Kickboxing Council.) Blinky Rodriguez was the commentator.
TL Fox: Did they originally want you to find a male?
Cody: No, originally they were trying to find a girl.
TL Fox: How did Jolene react when first told she
would be fighting a
male?
Cody: Her initial reaction was,
a "far away" look in her eyes.... she
smiled a little bit, then said right off that she would take it.
TL Fox: Did you approach Jeremy
Powellabout the match, and if you did, what was his
reaction?
Cody: Yes I approached him. His
first reaction was "shock." I told him that he had
more to lose than she did, because that in our society, it is put
down to hit a woman, "which it should be, it is the wrong thing
to do to hit anybody, but it is a sport, and it was a statement
that men and women are equal. He outweighed her too. I told him that would get
boo’d and laughed at, people would ridicule him, because he is a
man fighting a woman, cause if he gets knocked out he loses, if she
gets knocked out, he loses, it is a no win situation for him.
TL Fox: After you said that, did Jeremy still decide to take the fight
exhibition?
Cody: He asked me what I would do, and I said
he could could go ahead and do it, or not do it --- it was up to
him. I also told Jeremy that he was a good guy, no matter what
he decided.
TL Fox: Why did Jeremy wear a headgear and Jolene didn’t?
Cody: Jolene was a pro, and Jeremy was an amateur at that time and was
just ready to turn pro.
TL Fox: Could you tell at any part of the fight that he was holding back?
Cody: Yes. It was his instincts from him. He does that sometimes in
real fights.
TL Fox: Are you, as an instructor and trainer, an advocate for mixed
boxing/ and or mixed kickboxing matches?
Cody: No. I’m not coping out to my beliefs, but in this world there
are a lot of dishonest people who would take advantage of this kind
of match, and bring down boxing and kickboxing backwards because of
things they were doing in those matches. They would use it for a
side-show, even if Jolene and Jeremy's was not, there were opinions
that it was. But I am not saying a woman cannot destroy a man in a
self-defense situation.
TL Fox: If you had it to do all over again, would you put it on TV?
Cody: If it was the same athletics and I
knew the athletics inside and
out.
"A special Thanks to Mr. Cody
for this interview on Jolene's mixed matched exhibition kickboxing
match".
Copyrighted September 11, 2000
All rights reserved. |
