Carol Polis with her plaques after being inducted into the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame and the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame as a judge -- the first female professional boxing judge in the world. MICHAEL PISTELLA

Polis has been called to stand among the greatest the sport has to offer and is now forever enshrined in the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame (Oct. 3) and the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (Sept. 29).

She called it her “WOW” week — yes, in all capital letters.

“It makes me feel honored, it makes me feel humbled, it makes me feel great,” Polis said of her dual enshrinements. “It was magical. It was wonderful.”

Polis, a Cape Coral resident, cemented her career in a span of a week, spending time with family, reliving memories and telling her story — a story that garnered countless moments of applause during her speeches. She received countless thanks from those in the boxing realm, including former fighters and promoters. Even former world champion Bernard Hopkins had to come and pay his respects to Polis.

Carol Polis with former world champion boxer Bernard Hopkins at the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame on Oct. 3. PHOTO PROVIDED

“I was shaking a lot of hands on my way back to my table,” she said. “Here was a group that appreciated me, and that meant a lot.”

A moment that especially touched her heart was when two female fighters on an upcoming card in Las Vegas made sure to send a message thanking Polis for all she’s done for women in the sport.

In a world filled with testosterone, haymakers and fist-clenched warriors, Polis found herself ringside to some of the world’s most epic boxing showdowns in the squared circle, not as a spectator, but as a judge.

She grew up in Jenkintown, a suburb just north of Philadelphia — a city with roots deeply entrenched in boxing lore.

The first jab boxing gave Polis happened when she stopped to watch a title fight on television between Ken Buchanan and eventual personal favorite, Roberto Duran, in 1972. Buchanan’s kilt-style trunks caught Polis’ eye — and the sport hasn’t lost her attention since.

Carol Polis with co-author of her book, "The Lady is a Champ," Rich Herschlag at the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame on Oct. 3 where she was enshrined for her career as the first female professional boxing judge in the world. PHOTO PROVIDED

The night Polis’ future would take shape happened at the famous Philadelphia Spectrum. Her ex-husband was working a card at the arena and told her to keep score herself on the back of a program. At that time, Polis had only been to about four or five boxing events in her life.

Her then-husband gave her a 10-second lesson on how to score and that’s where her story began. The brief lecture would result in the first scorecard of what would be many Polis would fill out over the course of her life. At the end of the night, Polis’ ex-husband told her he was going to turn in her makeshift scorecard to the commissioner to Polis’ dismay.

The Philadelphia Athletic Commissioner at the time was former Harlem Globetrotter, Negro Leaguer and eventual third man in the ring for the infamous “Rumble in the Jungle” fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, Zack Clayton. He told her ex-husband that he liked her scores and to keep it up. Clayton, who always called Polis “lady,” sent her a boxing rulebook in the mail that was quite small in size but thick in content. It took her a year and a half to get through it.

“Zack Clayton was the first person I spoke about when I honored the five men who helped me along the way,” Polis said. “He was my mentor and a great guy.

“Zack said to me on quite a few occasions, ‘Be a man. Make a decision.’ No matter how close the round is, somebody is ‘this much’ ahead, and somebody wins the round. Never call it a draw — and that’s hard to do, especially in the feeling out rounds, which are maybe one through three, but I tried.”

Carol Polis during her early years as a judge. Polis was recently inducted into two halls of fame honoring her career in the sport of boxing as a judge -- the first the female professional boxing judge in the world. PHOTO PROVIDED

One fateful night, Clayton came up to Polis and her ex during the intermission before the main event and told her she would be the first female pro boxing judge in the country. On Feb. 1, 1973, Polis was appointed a judge by the then-governor of Pennsylvania, Milton Shapp.

The newly appointed judge took her seat ringside on a high stool, eye-level with the canvass, for the very first time on Feb. 19, 1973, in a heavyweight bout between Jimmy Young and Earnie Shavers, two former champions, throwing up the peace sign when her name was announced. Her 10-second lesson years prior, developed into a tactical, educated approach to scoring a fight fairly and down the middle.

“I took something, and made something out of it,” she said. “It was a challenge because it was a new field for me, but not a challenge as far as how to act.”

When asked how she lasted so long in the sport, Polis said, “It was the way I was raised. I was raised to be a lady, to be respectful. So, in every situation I was in, I assumed that role because that was me. You just have to be one of the guys.”

Polis said she would have never imagined as a youth growing up to become a boxing judge and had many other interests she intended to pursue. Career paths she was interested in pursuing included being an actress, veterinarian (she has a deep love of animals), ballerina or French interpreter.

Another aspect of life Polis knew she wanted from an early age was to have children. “I knew I wanted children, the married part of it didn’t interest me as much as having children.” She has two boys and two girls, and also raised her grandson, Larry, from birth, what she said is one of her proudest accomplishments in life.

She attended the University of Wisconsin for only two years, starting off as pre-med and eventually a philosophy major.

“I ended up in pre-wed,” she quipped.

Polis has seen it all and experienced it all during her one-of-a-kind career. She’s judged Larry Holmes in ’81, Mike Tyson in ’95 and was even a guest of Muhammad Ali at his training camp. She has travelled the globe, having judged fights in Japan, South America, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Panama and more. Italy is her favorite place to travel.

When it was all said and done, she had officiated 27 title fights and even made a cameo appearance in “Rocky V.”

She wrote a book, published in 2012, along with co-author Rich Herschlag, called “The Lady is a Champ” — a play on one of her favorite songs, Frank Sinatra’s “The Lady is a Tramp.”

Polis, a cancer survivor, “loves to share her story,” and enjoys dancing, karaoke and Italian restaurants. She now does speaking engagements, sharing her remarkable story.

The main message of her talks? Courage.

“With courage, anything is possible,” Polis said. “Courage is a choice, not a gift, it’s a choice.”

But is she done telling her story and done chasing dreams? Not a chance.

“I’d like to continue if I can do it,” Polis said. “My friends say now, ‘Well now you’ve got this honor, are you done?’ Nope.”

When asked what she hopes comes to mind when people mention her name, Polis said, “I hope they think of somebody that broke the glass ceiling and entered a male-dominated field and was still respected.”

To inquire about speaking engagements, you can contact Polis at 239-984-2120 or apricot4631@yahoo.com.

— Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad_cj