Phyllis Kugler

Professional boxing career By the mid-1950s, Kugler was trained and managed in South Bend by local boxing trainer-manager Johnny Nate.

At 20, Kugler faced former stablemate and champion JoAnn Hagen in 1956. That November, they went on the Steve Allen Show, a nationally televised show, to promote their title fight, where Kugler and Hagen sparred briefly. She won the world lightweight championship with a controversial split decision against Hagen on December 13, 1956, in Roseland, Indiana. Her performance in beating Hagen brought her recognition as "Woman Boxer of the Year."

She balanced training with daytime work at a precision plastic factory in Mishawaka, Indiana, where she ran a press. When she retired, she had a 55-1-1 record.

Life after boxing Following her boxing career, she married her first husband and started a family. She later earned a degree in psychology and worked at a psychiatric hospital. Kugler opened her own boutique in 1990.

Death Phyllis McCormick (née Kugler) died on March 6, 2014, in Surprise, Arizona, United States, at age 77.

Legacy Kugler secured titles in three separate women's weight classes. At the peak of her career, she made appearances on "The Steve Allen Show," "What's My Line?," and "I've Got a Secret."

Kugler was posthumously inducted into the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame in 2015.