Kali Reis


Kali Reis is an American professional boxer and actress. She is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC female middleweight title in 2016 and the WBA, WBO, and IBO female light welterweight titles between 2020 and 2022. She also challenged Cecilia Brækhus for the undisputed female welterweight title in 2018. Reis is a member of the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame.
In 2021, Reis made her acting debut as the star of the American thriller film Catch the Fair One. For her performance as a boxer endeavoring to rescue her missing sister, she was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. She has since starred in the mystery series True Detective: Night Country,for which she received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Critics Choice Award.

Early life, family and education

Reis was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on August 24, 1986, the youngest of five children. She and her siblings were raised by their mother in East Providence. Her father, Frank Reis, was a musician who at one point played keyboards for Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.
Reis has Cape Verdean heritage, and is a member of the Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe, a cultural organization for people who claim Wompanoag ancestry. She has incorporated the name Mequinonoag, given to her by her mother, which she translates as "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 participated in her junior high and high school's marching bands and color guards and competed in high school volleyball, basketball, and softball. Reis started boxing at age 14 at Manfredo's Gym in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. She was also coached at home by a local Native American boxer who was a friend of her mother.
Reis later attended school for criminology, aiming to be a corrections officer for juveniles. She also learned how to repair motorcycles at MTTI. She continued her training at Manfredos Gym and Big Six Boxing Academy in Providence.
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. While beginning her boxing career, she also worked in nightclub security. During this time, she sued the city after being attacked by a police officer.

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 2014 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 in Bermuda. Reis also coaches boxing for youth and works as a trainer. In April 2016, Reis won her first major world title in New Zealand against Maricela Cornejo for the vacant WBC World Middleweight title.
HBO broadcast its first women's bout, between Cecilia Brækhus and Reis, on May 5, 2018, which Brækhus won.
Reis won a total of 19 fights during her career, 5 by knockout.

Acting career

Reis became involved in the movie Catch the Fair One after filmmaker Josef Kubota Wladyka discovered Reis's advocacy for the MMIWG 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's 2023 film Asphalt City, starring Sean Penn, Tye Sheridan, and Katherine Waterston.
In June 2022, Reis was announced as the co-lead of True Detective: Night Country, the fourth season of HBO's anthology crime series. Reis starred alongside Jodie Foster as a detective investigating the disappearance of eight men from an Alaskan research station and that event's possible connection to the earlier murder of a young woman, an Iñupiaq activist.

Accolades

For her role in Catch the Fair One, Reis won the Jury Award for Best Actress at the 2021 Newport Beach Film Festival. She was also nominated for Best Female Lead at the 37th Independent Spirit Awards. In 2024, Reis became the first Native American woman nominated for a Primetime Emmy for acting; Reis was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her work in True Detective.
In February 2022, Reis was honored for her achievements as an athlete and for mentoring local youth by being inducted into the North American Indigenous Athletic Hall of Fame. That same year, she also received the "Misty Upham Award" at the Red National International Film Festival and was honored with a key to the City of East Providence. On March 28, 2024, a panel of Rhode Island House of Representatives recognized Reis with the Community Hero Award for her advocacy and support of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls. The award was inscribed: "She needed a hero, so she became one."
In October 2025, she was named among the inductees for the 2026 International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame class.

Personal life

Reis identifies as two-spirit, and has been in relationships with both women and men. She is married to Brian Cohen, a retired professional boxer.
She is an active supporter of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls movement.

Disputed ancestry

A report from the website Tribal Alliance Against Frauds claims Reis has no Native American ancestry. The website claims to have researched five generations of her genealogy.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
27Win19–7–1Jessica CamaraSD10November 19, 2021SNHU Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.Retained WBA and IBO female light welterweight titles;
Won vacant WBO light welterweight title
26Win18–7–1Diana PrazakUD10August 20, 2021Sycuan Casino, El Cajon, California, U.S.
25Win17–7–1Kandi WyattUD10November 6, 2020Marriott Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.Won vacant WBA female light welterweight title
24Win16–7–1Patricia JuarezUD6August 29, 2019Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, U.S.
23Win15–7–1Szilvia SzabadosTKO6 1:30October 18, 2018Mayflower Hotel, Washington, DC, U.S.
22Win14–7–1Paty RamirezUD8June 30, 2018Mohegan Sun Arena, Montville, Connecticut, U.S.
21Loss13–7–1Cecilia BrækhusUD10May 5, 2018StubHub Center, Carson, California, U.S.For WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and IBO female welterweight titles
20Win13–6–1Tiffany WoodardUD6November 25, 2017Mayflower Hotel, Washington, DC, US
19Win12–6–1Sydney LeBlancUD6October 19, 2017Mohegan Sun Arena, Montville, Connecticut, US
18Win11–6–1Ashleigh CurryMD6May 11, 2017Mohegan Sun Arena, Montville, Connecticut, U.S.
17Loss10–6–1Christina HammerUD10November 5, 2016Ballhaus Forum, Munich, GermanyLost WBC female middleweight title;
For WBO female middleweight title
16Win10–5–1Althea SaundersUD8July 15, 2016Twin River Event Center, Lincoln, Rhode Island, U.S.
15Win9–5–1Maricela Cornejo10April 16, 2016The Trusts Arena, Auckland, New ZealandWon vacant WBC female middleweight title
14Win8–5–1Victoria CisnerosTKO1 1:31February 19, 2016Twin River Event Center, Lincoln, Rhode Island, U.S.Won vacant UBF female middleweight title
13Loss7–5–1Hanna GabrielsUD10October 17, 2015Estadio Edgardo Baltodano Briceño, Liberia, Costa RicaFor WBO female light middleweight title
12Loss7–4–1Christina HammerUD10May 2, 2015Sparkassen-Arena, Jena, GermanyFor WBO female middleweight title
11Win7–3–1Teresa PerozziTKO3 0:51November 21, 2014Fairmont Southampton Resort, Southampton, BermudaWon vacant IBA female middleweight title
10Loss6–3–1Mikaela LaurénUD8July 18, 2014Pabellon Municipal, Sedaví, Spain
9Win6–2–1Marva Dash4 1:41March 3, 2014Irish Cultural Center, Canton, Massachusetts, U.S.Dash disqualified for excessive holding
8Loss5–2–1Tori NelsonUD10November 7, 2013Martin's Valley Mansion, Cockeysville, Maryland, U.S.For WIBA welterweight title
7Win5–1–1Lyneisha Jefferson4June 29, 2012Convention Center, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
6Win4–1–1Marva DashUD4March 9, 2012Convention Center, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
5Win3–1–1Kate AversaTKO2 December 9, 2011Civic Center, West Warwick, Rhode Island, U.S.
4Draw2–1–1Sarah Kuhn6October 28, 2011Empire State Plaza Convention Center, Albany, New York, U.S.
3Loss2–1Aleksandra Magdziak Lopes6July 9, 2010Twin River Event Center, Lincoln, Rhode Island, U.S.
2Win2–0Aleksandra Magdziak Lopes4March 6, 2009Memorial Hall, Plymouth, Massachusetts, U.S.
1Win1–0Betsy Rowell2, 1:16September 6, 2008The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.