VILAMOURA, Portugal — America might have been ready for Bruce Jenner to become Caitlyn, accompanied by a flurry of tabloid breathlessness, a moving ESPYs speech, a sexualized photo shoot and, of course, a reality TV show. But is the most male and macho of sporting disciplines, boxing, prepared for a transgender figure of prominence?
Kellie Maloney is ready to find out.
Maloney, 62, formerly was Frank Maloney, an outrageous British promoter who helped guide Lennox Lewis to the undisputed world heavyweight championship.
Standing 5-foot-3 and often clad in a British flag designer suit, Maloney was an unlikely yet perfect sidekick to aloof Lewis and an equally well-suited rival to promoter Don King, who christened Maloney the “pugilistic pygmy” and a “mental midget.