Chevelle Hallback Dreams Of Fighting On HBO

Chevelle Hallback has been one of boxing’s best female fighters pound for pound the past six years.

The super athletic Floridian has won world championships as a featherweight, junior lightweight and lightweight and along the way has clashed with a number of the best female prizefighters to ever lace up gloves.

In just her second pro fight, Hallback fought Lucia Rijker considered by many the best female prizefighter of all time.

So what’s left for the talented Hallback?

“I want to fight on HBO,” says Hallback, 39. “It’s been a dream of mine for a long time.”

First, Hallback (27-6-2, 11 KOs) will be fighting Victoria Cisneros (5-10-2) in an eight-round lightweight bout on Friday Dec. 3, at Route 66 Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fresquez Productions is promoting the fight card.

To keep the dream alive Hallback must fight in Cisneros hometown and beat her convincingly. It’s no easy feat.

“The only thing I know is she is a come forward fighter. She’ll be throwing a lot of punches but nothing really too fancy,” says Hallback, who has fought a Who’s Who of female champions. “She is a straight forward fighter.”

Hallback’s last fight came against Holly Holm the current junior welterweight world champion and a much bigger boxer. She lost for the second time to the box and move stylist.

It’s the challenges of beating superior boxers that still motivates Hallback, and the quest to fight in front of a major television network like HBO.

Cisneros, 25, has youth on her side and the heavy advantage of fighting in her hometown crowd. Hallback has seldom fought in front of a hometown crowd.

“To be honest it might sound crazy, but I don’t even know who is out there around my weight class,” Hallback says, adding that in her 12-year career she’s fought nearly every top ranked female. “I’ll fight anybody that is willing to fight me.”

At 5-feet 6-inches, Hallback is a lean slick fighting machine who can counter with the best. If she feels like exchanging she does and usually emerges the winner. Throughout her career it’s been difficult to find opponents. She doesn’t mind if they’re champions or too heavy.

One of the best female fights ever televised was Hallback facing Las Vegas boxer Layla McCarter a second time. The rematch took place at Pala Casino in Southern California in July 2004. The crowd at the casino and the audience watching on ESPN saw the two extremely talented prizefighters exhibit female boxing at its best. Back and forth they traded bombs, slipped blows, countered and changed strategy in a fight that would have made Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez proud. Both women fought no more than two feet away at all times and gave a seminar on high level female fighting. For many it still remains the pinnacle of female boxing.

Hallback and McCarter continue to be the two most skilled female boxers today.

Still, Hallback would trade all of her titles and accolades for one shot at being televised by HBO. Some dreams die hard.

“She (Cisneros) is a banger. If I have to I can bang too. Our two styles together is going to make for a great fight. I wish this fight would be on HBO you know,” Hallback says. “It should be an exciting fight.”

That’s what the Floridian likes: exciting fights.

In less than a year Hallback will be turning 40, but she still plans to continue her trek of fighting on a major network.

“For the first female to be on HBO it has to be exciting and to give the crowd a fight. Whoever comes to really show that they want to bang, that’s the fighter I want to fight,” says Hallback. “I know I can do it.”

But first, on Friday, Hallback fights Cisneros.

“I’m still striving for that goal of fighting on HBO,” she says.

Holm vs. Saccurato

In the main event IBA junior welterweight titleholder Holly Holm (28-1-3) fights punching machine Ann Saccurato (15-4-2, 6 KOs) in a 10-round match.

It’s a rematch. Holmwon their first encounter by unanimous decision in 2007.

Saccurato has not fought in more than a year and is anxious to step back in the ring.

Holm has not lost a fight since 2004.