Today marks exactly five years since Plant City native Chevelle Hallback’s last boxing match. Luckily for Hallback, 48, she won’t have to wait much longer for the next one.
After many years of training, hoping, waiting and challenging — including an open challenge for Cris “Cyborg” Justino in 2017 — someone finally stepped up to test Hallback’s famous “fists of steel” for real. Szilvia Szabados, BoxRec’s ninth-ranked woman in the world, has answered the call. Hallback and Szabados will fight Sept. 21 at the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Marriott.
“Man, I’m so excited about it,” Hallback said. “It’s been a long time coming. Like, God dang, why did it take so long? I’m just glad I’m getting back in the ring. I’ve been waiting for it. My fans have been waiting for it.”
Hallback has a 30-8-2 record in the ring and has won three of her last five fights, though that covers a span from 2010 to 2014. Her last two fights, both in 2014, ended with both opponents going down by TKO. Thirteen women have been knocked out by the “Fists of Steel” over the years. Hallback has also faced some of the top competition the sport has seen, including three fights against crossover MMA star Holly Holm and a 2014 fight against current world No. 1 Cecilia Braekhus.
Szabados, 29, has knocked out almost as many opponents in her five-year career (nine knockouts in 18 wins). But the Hungarian fighter has been on something of a cold streak lately: she lost by unanimous decision against Mary McGee on April 6 and against world No. 7 Ornella Domini on March 9. In her third most recent fight, on Oct. 18, 2018, she lost by TKO to world No. 2 Kali Reis in six rounds. Szabados’s last win was July 21, 2018, when she scored a second-round TKO against Szilvia Raffael.
Hallback hasn’t seen much of Szabados — save for a 30-second clip of her fight against Claressa Shields — but that’s normal. She’s always preferred an amateur boxer’s approach: train to fight any style to be ready for anyone at any time. In a sport where fighters pulling out at the last minute is nowhere near as rare as anyone wants it to be, Hallback’s “work smarter, not harder” approach has come in handy numerous times.
“Amateur fighters don’t have time to study,” she said. “They fight a different person almost every other day… I have to take that approach in case something happens, which it has. I’ve always put it in my head that I’m just gonna train for everything. I’m ready for whatever.”
Hallback and Szabados are booked to go six rounds Sept. 21 and will fight in the super welterweight (154 pounds) class. Getting to Shields, the undisputed middleweight champion of the world, is Hallback’s ultimate goal.
“I really would like to fight her,” Hallback said. “But of course, I really can’t make any noise after not fighting for five years. I can’t just jump from behind the curtain and say ‘I want to fight her.’ I do have a strategy. I want to try to get three to four fights under my belt… and then I can make some noise. I’m back in the rankings. I’m fighting top quality girls.”
For tickets, you have two options. You can call 813-981-0059, or purchase some directly from Hallback. Contact her at chevellehallback@gmail.com or link up with her via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Hallback says the fight has nearly sold out, so act fast if you wish to see her big comeback.
TALE OF THE TAPE
Chevelle Hallback
Record: 30-8-2 (13 KO)
Age: 48 (9/3/1971)
Height: 5’6”
Reach: 67”
Stance: Orthodox
Debut: 2/21/1997
Last 5: 3-2-0 (two wins by TKO, one by split decision)
Szilvia Szabados
Record: 18-15-0 (9 KO)
Age: 29 (8/5/1990)
Height: 5’7”
Reach: 67”
Stance: Orthodox
Debut: 2/16/2014
Last 5: 1-4-0 (win by TKO)