Jackie Tonawanda aka Female Ali Didn’t Float Like A Butterfly she was 0-1 as a pro boxer

Update:  This story tells it ALL on the 0-1-0 Jackie Tonawanda that fabricated everything about her fights with others.  Great read.  Published on February 15, 2022 –  Jackie Tonawanda aka Female Ali Didn’t Float Like A Butterfly, Sting Like A Bee…Or Win Single Fight – by Randy Gordon  Link to story   

She is inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in New York in 2022—-an embarrassment to the sport when this took place.  At this HOF they list her fight history 31-0 on some plaque..when in fact she never won a pro fight according to our research for many, many years.  Read Randy Gordon’s editorial on this fighter. Randy Gordon  Link to story   

Jackie Tonawanda, dubbed “the Female Ali” born with the name of Jackie Garrett in New York on Sept. 4, 1933,  was a pioneer female heavyweight boxer from the 1970s and 1980s.  With that said, she was known to fabricate fights that she was in, lied to anyone that would give her the chance to get something written about her, which is so sad when other fighters did get in the ring and fight tough bouts in the past.  Link to story

This was a true fact:  Tonawanda, along with Lady Tyger Trimiar, and Cathy “Cat” Davis were issued boxing licenses in New York, after Davis went a legal battle with pursuing being licensed in that State.

The fights that she proclaimed to have won which her record changed from news article to news article, she finally told one of our writers that they were “underground” unsanctioned fights.  There are no opponents named in any of the fights claimed in the record that she told the media in regards to her undefeated [reported by her solely] ranged from 36-0 to 23-0. After years of research and trying to interview her many times—we have determined at this time she is 0-1-0 (0KO) as a professional female boxer. (In the early 2000’s we spoke with a couple of  pioneer female boxers who knew Tonawanda, who also confirmed that they only recalled one fight she had as a pro and lost that fight to Diane Clark.)

On June 8, 2001, at the Turning Stone Casino for the Laila Ali vs. Jacqui Frazier bout, Tonawanda made a brief televised appearance to speak with one of the commentator of the pay-per-view event.

The commentator introduced Tonawanda as “The” pioneer of women’s boxing.  The commentator also said of  Tonawanda that her boxing record was 36-1 (36KO). Tonawanda nodded in agreement.  Tonawanda on a later date clarified that her record was unsanctioned underground fighting.  Her pro record stands at 0-1-0. 

On June 12, 2001, sports writer Carol Ann Weber reported to WBAN the following:  “I met Jackie Tonawanda at the Women’s Sports Foundation press conference held the morning before the Awards Banquet last year, Oct. 16. She waited until after the press conference and then began proclaiming who she was. So, I walked over and offered to interview her and provide some publicity for her. After she told me she was the first woman boxer, the pioneer, the female Ali, etc. I asked her questions about her life and her career. She immediately said she couldn’t offer me any information because she had a book deal on her life and couldn’t tell me any details. At that point, I got up and walked away, as I didn’t want to waste any more of my time,” said Weber. 

On June 9, 2009, Tonawanda lost her one last battle when she died of Colon Cancer at Harlem’s Mount Sinai Hospital.

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