At just under 1,5metres tall, Jodi Solomon is a somewhat unlikely driving force behind one of Africa’s rising boxing stars — Isaac “Golden Boy” Chilemba, the current IBO super middleweight world title holder.
Solomon, a 37-year-old divorced mother of two, made history this year when she became the first female boxing manager in South Africa to boast a world champion — Chilemba won the vacant International Boxing Organisation title by defeating Australian Michael Bolling in June.
Chilemba retained his title earlier this month after a gruelling 12-round draw against challenger Tommy Oosthuizen — a match that had threatened to become personal after Oosthuizen promised, at a press conference, to knock Chilemba out “in front of [his] little girlfriend” (referring to Solomon).
“It felt awful,” Solomon said. “In one fell swoop he [Oosthuizen] managed to take all my hard work and flush it down the toilet.
“I feel I have to work twice as hard to get half the respect of men in the industry,” Solomon said, “but I love being a woman in boxing. I don’t want to be one of the men. I’ll never come to a fight in trainers and a tracksuit. There’s room for women in this industry.”
Rhythm in boxing
Solomon, who has been involved in the sport for the past 12 years, started boxing as a way to keep active after having her first child. “I’d been a dancer all my life. One day I walked into a boxing gym and it all made sense. There’s such rhythm in the combinations and the punches.”
At first Solomon boxed only for the fitness. “Part of me wanted to go pro, but I knew I was too old,” she said. Boxing also proved to be “a lot cheaper than therapy during my divorce”, she said, laughing.
While she was training, Solomon came into contact with many professional fighters — who gradually became her friends. “They’re such gentlemen. They have such interesting stories. I thought that one day I’d like to make a difference for the boxers — I knew a lot of them had complaints about the system, about their boxing contracts. Often they were pressured into signing, just told about fights—they weren’t consulted. They didn’t have a say in their careers.”
Chilemba became Solomon’s first client. He was later joined by Bongani “Sweetie Pie” Dlamini, Zolani “Untouchable” Marali, Michael Ramabeletsa and, recently, female boxer Shayvonne Pattison.
“I’m not so fussy about the amount of boxers I have,” Solomon said. “It’s more about the kind of boxers they are. I don’t define my boxers by colour, gender, religion—they’re part of my family.” Solomon said her boxers tend to see her as “one of the boys” – except when they’re training for a fight, when she becomes “CJ” or Coach Jodi.
Solomon’s background in dance and sports massage means she tends to place a lot of emphasis on training and body conditioning and she works closely with trainer Elias Tshabalala. “Some boxers don’t train at all when they’re not fighting,” she said. “I like them to always be fit, always ready — you never know when a fight will come up. I also teach them how to eat properly, as an athlete.”
An average day will include roadwork (running) followed by a short rest, then fitness or weight training, another short break, then back to the gym for two hours of boxing training on bags and pads.
Adventurous journey
In the afternoons and evenings Solomon and her boxers work with private boxing clients. In between Solomon meets promoters, sponsors, the media and “— tries to be a mother. It’s hard juggling boxing with kids. Often they miss out on time with me. But they love my boxers and they love being part of the journey,” she said.
“In the beginning a lot of people in this industry came up with reasons why I became a manager,” Solomon said, “including that I was sleeping with everyone. It’s hard for them to come to grips with the fact that I got into this business because I could do the job. I know what I am and the people I work with know the truth.
“A manager has to guide a boxer, help plan a career. My job is to help my boxers get the most out of the small amount of years they have as an athlete. It’s not for me to dictate what happens. We plan things together.
We work completely on trust — and we do it together. I want them to do well not only in the ring, but also when it comes to managing their own careers, their own finances — the things that will sustain them after they’ve stopped fighting. My success will come from their success when they’ve finished boxing.
“In a man’s world — and let’s be honest, boxing is predominantly a man’s world — she’s done brilliantly,” said Rodney Berman, chief executive of Golden Gloves Promotions. “[Solomon] is very astute, she understands the business side of boxing and she’s going to go far.
It’s not a gender thing, it’s a mentality thing. She’s really got the interests of her fighters at heart. She always puts her fighters first. And that’s refreshing.”