Kali Reis (born August 24, 1986) is an American

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

and actress. She is a former world champion in two

weight classes Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports, especially combat sports (such as boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling). Altern ...

, having held the WBC female

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

title in 2016 and the WBA, WBO, and IBO female

light welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

titles between 2020 and 2022. She also challenged

Cecilia Brækhus Cecilia Carmen Linda Brækhus (born 28 September 1981) is a Norwegian professional boxer and former kickboxer. In boxing she reigned as the undisputed female welterweight champion from 2014 to 2020, and is the first woman in any weight class to h ...

for the

undisputed Undisputed may refer to: Film * ''Undisputed'' (film), a 2002 action-thriller-drama film ** ''Undisputed'' (soundtrack), the soundtrack to the film * Undisputed II: Last Man Standing, a 2006 American martial arts film * Undisputed III: Redempt ...

female

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

title in 2018. In 2021, Reis made her acting debut as the star of the American thriller film, ''

Catch the Fair One ''Catch the Fair One'' is a 2021 American thriller film written, directed, and produced by Josef Kubota Wladyka, based on a story by Wladyka and Kali Reis in her film debut. It stars Reis, Daniel Henshall, Tiffany Chu, Michael Drayer, Lisa Emer ...

,'' for which she also received story credit. For her performance as a boxer endeavoring to rescue her missing sister, Reis was nominated for Best Female Lead at the

37th Independent Spirit Awards The 37th Film Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best independent films and television series of 2021, were presented by Film Independent on March 6, 2022. Traditionally held the Saturday before the Academy Awards, the 2022 date marks a shif ...

Personal life

Reis was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, on August 24, 1986 and is the youngest of five children. She and her siblings were raised by their mother in East Providence, Rhode Island. Reis claims Cape Verdean ancestry and identifies as being of Native American descent, specifically

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

Nipmuc The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian language. Their historic territory Nippenet, "the freshwater pond place," is in central Massachusetts and nearby part ...

, and

Seaconke Wampanoag The Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe is one of several cultural heritage organizations of individuals who identify as descendants of the Wampanoag people in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Multiple nonprofit organizations were formed to represent the Sea ...

ancestry. As a child, she attended and competed in

powwows A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native Americans in the United States, Native American and First Nations in Canada, First Nations communities. Powwows today allow Indigenous people to socialize, danc ...

regularly. She has incorporated her Native name, 'Mequinonoag' (meaning 'many feathers' or 'many talents'), into her boxing nickname, 'K.O. Mequinonoag'. Reis was an athletic child and often played rougher sports with the neighborhood boys. She also was involved in her school's bands/marching bands and color guard, as well as playing high school volleyball. Since junior year of high school she was active in basketball and softball leagues. She started boxing at age 14 out of Manfredo's Gym in

Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Falls ...

, and was coached by a friend of her mother. Reis later went to school for criminology and also learned how to repair motorcycles at MTTI. Reis went on to continue her training at Peter Manfredo's Sr. gym to advance her boxing career. Before going pro, Reis had a successful amateur career, securing the 2007 Rocky Marciano Championship, the 2007 NYC Golden Gloves, and the 2006 New England 154 Championship. Reis is an active supporter of the

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) is an epidemic of violence against Indigenous women in Canada, the United States, and Latin America; notably those in the FNIM (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) and Native American communities. Acros ...

(MMWIG) movement.

Professional boxing career

In 2012, Reis was involved in a serious motorcycle accident that sidelined her for the remainder of the boxing season. However, she returned in 2013 and fought for the WIBA title in November of that year. Reis gained further attention in the sport after the match. On November 12, 2014, Reis won the IBA crown defeating

Teresa Perozzi Teresa Perozzi (born 31 December 1974) is an American-Bermudian former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2014. She held the WBA female middleweight title from 2011 to 2012 and also challenged for multiple world titles throughout he ...

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. Reis also coaches boxing for youth and works as a trainer. In April 2016, Reis won her first major world title in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

against Maricela Cornejo for the vacant WBC World Middleweight title.

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

broadcast its first women's bout between Cecilia Brækhus and Reis, on May 5, 2018, which Brækhus won.

Acting career

Reis became involved in ''Catch The Fair One'' after filmmaker Josef Kubota Wladyka discovered Reis's advocacy for the MMWIG movement and asked if she would collaborate as a co-writer and lead actress on a film about that subject . ''Catch The Fair One'' premiered in June 2021 at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film and Reis's debut performance received critical acclaim. Reis was cast in

Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire (born 31 December 1968), is a French filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. He is best known as the director of films '' Johnny Mad Dog'', '' A Prayer Before Dawn'' and ''La Mule''. Personal life Sauvaire was born on 31 D ...

's upcoming film ''

Black Flies A black fly or blackfly (sometimes called a buffalo gnat, turkey gnat, or white socks) is any member of the family Simuliidae of the Culicomorpha infraorder. It is related to the Ceratopogonidae, Chironomidae, and Thaumaleidae. Over 2,200 speci ...

'', starring

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...

Tye Sheridan Tye Kayle Sheridan (born November 11, 1996) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for playing the young Scott Summers / Cyclops in the reboot ''X-Men'' film series (2016–2019), as well as Wade Watts in ''Ready Player One'' (2 ...

, and

Katherine Waterston Katherine Boyer Waterston (born March 3, 1980) is a British-American actress. She made her feature film debut in ''Michael Clayton'' (2007). She had supporting roles in films including ''Robot & Frank,'' ''Being Flynn'' (both 2012) and ''The Di ...

. In June 2022, Reis was announced as the co-lead ''of True Detective: Dark Country'', the fourth season of

's anthology crime series. Reis will star alongside

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the ho ...

as a detective investigating the disappearance of six men from an Alaskan research station.

Accolades

For her role in ''Catch The Fair One,'' Reis won the Jury Award for Best Actress at the 2021

Newport Beach Film Festival The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) is an annual film festival in Newport Beach, California, typically held in late April. In 2022, it was announced that the festival have permanently changed its date to be held in October, as the festival beg ...

. She was also nominated for Best Female Lead at the

Professional boxing record

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reis, Kali 1986 births 21st-century Native Americans American women boxers American people of Cherokee descent Boxers from Rhode Island Living people Light-welterweight boxers Welterweight boxers Light-middleweight boxers Middleweight boxers World light-welterweight boxing champions World middleweight boxing champions World Boxing Association champions World Boxing Council champions Native American boxers Native American sportspeople Sportspeople from Providence, Rhode Island 21st-century Native American women