AIR DATE:
EPISODE: Episode 1
Join me on Tuesday May 16th at 8:30pm EST as we sir down with Kaliesha “Wild Wild” West to hear her amazing journey! Kaliesha is an amazing fighter & person that came from the same Era as myself! I consider her my boxing sister & she continues to amaze me with her grit, determination & drive to accomplish all of her goals in life even after her boxing career ended! She is the former 3X WBO Female Bantamweight World Champion & IFBA Super Bantamweight World Champion! Kaliesha was the first World Champion Boxer from the Inland Empire! She was also a contestant on the CW Reality show Capture placing 4th place out of 12 teams! She has always been and continues to be big voice campaigning & protesting across the US for equality for woman in sports! You don’t want to miss her amazing story before, during and after boxing! Set your reminders!
#femaleboxing #badasswoman #worldchamp #wbo #IFBA #KalieshaWest #Brooke”NoMercy”Dierdorff-Millbrook #NoPunchesPulledWithNoMercy #TalkinFight @NoPunchesPulledWithNoMercy @Brooke”NoMercy”DierdorffMillbrook @KalieshaWest @WBO @IFBA @TalkinFight
Transcribed
[, Music, ], foreign, [, Music, ], hey, hey! What’S up everybody, it’s your girl, no mercy here, it’s Tuesday night! So you already know what time it is.
It’S time for no punches pulled with me, no mercy.
Some of you probably already know who I am for those of you that are new and don’t my name – is Brooke Millbrook, formerly known as Brooke no mercy deardorff in the boxing game.
I am a retired professional boxer.
I held the WBC lightweight title until I retired and I was inducted into the international women’s Boxing Hall of Fame in 2022.
.
I’Ve been through some good, some bad and, of course, a lot of BS in the sport of women’s boxing.
Welcome to my platform, this is where we talk the talk and we walk the walk.
We go.
We will be um talking with past boxers current boxers future boxers young boxers, all the above in the sport of women’s boxing.
We do get down and dirty here and we speak the truth of what takes place behind the scenes in women’s boxing things that people don’t know.
You definitely don’t want to miss one single episode, so please make sure that you like subscribe and share the episodes.
You don’t want to miss live here, Tuesday night with me every week, but today y’all, I’m super super excited um with the guests that we have on today.
Hopefully, you guys saw the posts um, but today we’re sitting down to hear the amazing journey of an amazing fighter, an amazing person uh that came from the same era a little bit after me, but at the same time as me, um I consider her to be One of my boxing sisters: she definitely continues to amaze me with her grit determination and drive to accomplish all of her goals in life.
Even after boxing, even after retirement uh, she is the former three-time WBO female bantamweight champ and the ifba super bantamweight World Champ.
She was the first world champion from the Inland Inland Empire and was also a contestant on CW reality show capture placing fourth out of 12 teams.
Total she’s always been a very, very big voice campaigning and protesting across the U.
S for equality for women in sports.
Please help me welcome Kalisa West to the show, what’s up champ, what’s up champ? Oh my gosh, you said everything right there.
I was you just giving me all kind of flashbacks left to right and we’re kind of breaking down give them a little preview.
A little preview I was like I forgot about that you’re like so yeah, oh wait.
I didn’t do that.
I did do that.
Yeah yeah, oh man, so yeah I’ve been patiently waiting.
I told you before, but yeah I’ve been patiently waiting to have you on the show super excited um loved your boxing career.
I just love your attitude, your demeanor and everything about you, the most um I think we’re so similar in so many ways.
I think that’s kind of why, even after we met like I continued to follow your career, um your life, even after boxing um you’re, just so determined in everything that you do, and I just love that and you’re just your attitude.
I love your attitude.
You’Re hilarious.
Thank you.
You know it’s funny too, that you’re saying your determination, your determination, your drive, because my I was the stubborn one in the family, and I I’m not.
I was always good, but not great in things that I did.
I was decent and mediocre, but because of how stubborn I was, I’ve always been able to just you know, Excel succeed or go to the top of whatever it is that I’m doing yeah unboxing I’ll, never forget when I first started boxing when I was 10 years Old, I used to be afraid to hit the girls in their faces, so I’d hit them in in their chest area.
Just because I was tough, but I was like.
Oh, how do I do this? Am I really gon na hit him in the face, so I used to get made fun of oh, my gosh you’re you’re, fighting Shadow Boxer and you fighting Casper, and I wasn’t good.
I wasn’t like that natural crazy.
You know boxer that comes off the streets and then, but I was just always so determined to be the best, be the best people, I’m a perfectionist and everything.
I do.
I’M a perfectionist yeah – and I just I just kept going.
You know, even when it was really hard.
I just kept going yeah.
I don’t believe in.
I don’t believe in uh.
I don’t.
I just don’t believe in not finishing something that you’re doing like.
I don’t care if a leg break figure out how you gon na do it.
You know if something happened: crazy figure out how you’re gon na succeed in that sport or in whatever it is that you do whatever it is.
You want to do.
You know yeah.
Just don’t give up and don’t quit exactly so um.
I do know like you just stated officially, you started boxing at the age of 10.
um.
Take us back, though, tell us a little bit about your childhood.
Your dad, like your dad, was a boxer and what really LED you to decide at such a young age that you wanted to box.
You know my dad.
He was my superhero because he was so funny and he was so outgoing and everybody loved him.
He has so much Charisma, so you can imagine as a young girl if you’re getting a match for hero, it was like I want to make Daddy proud.
I want to make I want to.
I want to do something that has a life and we could be buddies.
We could be best friends yeah so when he was a boxer back in Riverside um way way back back in the day when a lot of great Roy Jones and then I want to say it was like it was around my 10th birthday.
I remember I really did like I wanted to get in there.
I want to be a part of our second watching and he he’s like you, don’t want to buy all the fighters used to meet at our house because he was coach and I used to have to run out of the driveway with my gloves.
In my hand, wraps as a little girl dad and he’d be like he would stop the car and be like you should you want to go today? Okay, I thought you were sarcastic things like he just did it.
Take me serious when I was that little it was just like box, and that was it you know, and then I kept going to the gym going to the first sparring session with the boy, and I just remember I did I remember I was like I’m just Gon na, do it a one and a two, and I just did a one two one two I was catching the the guy in the you know in the rounds when I was little, I was catching them with the one two I was so surprised.
If he’s like, you asked some natural skin girl, can you um? Can you do a Refresh on your screen you’re cutting out a little bit? Oh yeah, all right bear with me guys.
I want to fix the connection.
Have her come back in and see if we fix the audio there we go.
Is it better I disconnected from Wi-Fi? It is better right.
Now, anyway, it’s better okay yeah, I disconnected from Wi-Fi.
Sometimes it gets a little bad spotty out here in the country.
I feel you um so yeah, but you’re going in and out so I want to make sure people could understand you.
I could figure out what you were saying.
It was just delayed and cutting it out, but you’re good go ahead.
You can continue.
Okay, yeah! No! All I was saying was that one who was always chasing the car when they would leave when all the fighters would get in the car and leaving my dad because he was coach.
I was always the tag along while he was focused on his other Fighters.
All of his guys, I was just the one that was kind of like I want to go too.
Let me go too, and it was not like one of those come on get in the car come on get in there.
You know get on the uh get in the track.
Go run this.
It didn’t get like that until I want to say about 13.
, it was it’s about it’s about.
13, 12 years old was like testing the waters and he used to say that all the time I’m gon na throw you in there with so-and-so.
I’M gon na put you in this tournament.
I’M Gon na Make You Spar so, and so it was like he was.
You know testing the waters exactly and then he was just like this girl.
Don’T she don’t quit? She keeps going okay, she’s serious yeah.
He started he started putting me in on like bigger tournaments, like the blue and gold boxes for Christ.
Gene Lewis Golden Gloves, uh.
You know uh Junior Olympics USA’s International women’s, I mean every single amateur tournament.
You could think of I’ve been on that scale weighing in you know, fighting or whatever.
What have you I’ve always been present.
There was like it was like.
I was coach’s daughter, so sometimes you know Paulo was missing because he was playing football or Anthony was busy because he was hanging out, but Kalisha was always there.
There was no excuse for me because I’m a coach’s daughter, you know so right.
Oh, it wasn’t even I’ll be honest with you.
It wasn’t, even until I was 26 years old when I finally had like consistent like I want to say three months off from the age of 10.
, yeah all the way up till 26 years old.
I knew nothing but the gym I didn’t go to prom.
I didn’t do a winner, formal.
I had no boyfriends.
I had no outings, it was everything I did was like.
Oh well, since you’re really doing this, you can get hurt.
We’Re gon na really do this and we ain’t gon na play around.
You know what I mean yeah, I’m and like some like some people say: oh, you don’t want to be too hard on them and I’ll be honest with you.
I mean you, don’t you don’t want to burn somebody out, but it takes.
I mean this is just my opinion.
Is it does take some type of inhuman type of way about going about things yeah? If, if you really want to be want to be great at anything that you’re doing, if you hear the back story for the Williams sisters Tiger Woods, you know if you hear those backstories, there was no.
Oh, it’s Christmases.
I’M gon na take this week off.
Oh it’s My Best Friend’s Wedding.
I mean you miss out on life yeah when you’re in something in a sport where you have to be top tier.
So that’s basically how my whole, you know life and career was it was non-stop.
I mean I the most.
I get off is a week or two for the for Christmas holidays.
You know or a weekend you know and then living living with my dad.
It was like, even when it was my birthday, and I have some birthday cake, he’ll be like so now.
You know you ate that cake.
You know you got ta run three miles tomorrow right, you know I couldn’t even I couldn’t even cheat he’s a Coach and he’s always here so you’re, always in the gym I was like I was always weighing in.
I was always on my diet.
I was always you know, looked at under a microscope because I lived with Coach, so I took and – and I tell a lot of little girls that I meet, who ask me? Why did you box, you know, there’s there’s some girls that are like what you’re so nice? Oh my gosh, I would have never seen you boxing and I said you know I boxed because I was I was born into it.
You know you, you see in the movie, Gladiator you’ve seen the little boy how they throw they throw dirt on his face dirt on his face and he grew up a monster.
I I honestly I like to compare my life to that I was I was raised.
I was raised screaming at my dad four years old come on dad punch him.
I was raised watching my Pops.
I was raising him as a coach I raised into boxing.
I was just raised into it, but I’m so so so grateful because there’s no way that I would be as successful as great outside of the ring, as I am today yeah, if it weren’t for boxing, and it taught me self-defense, it taught me confidence.
It taught me so much and now that I’m you know older.
I look back at what I did and I was like.
Like I tell my husband, I’m like I was pretty damn amazing.
I just never.
I you don’t give yourself.
No, I don’t.
I never did either and even today, like looking back I’m just like yeah yeah, so I guess I actually did do that.
I mean, but it it’s different like I’m, I’m easy to give other people props for like accomplishments, but not so much myself, because I I always feel like I could have did more.
Absolutely me too.
I wanted that fight with Anna Marie Torres so bad.
I wanted that fight with Jackie Navas, so bad, and it was like every time the Stars it just wouldn’t align.
You know what I mean they just for one reason or another it just she was Jackie, was pregnant.
Anna Marie was set up on a contract.
Just something happened where the stars went in line and then you know it just didn’t happen and – and I even though I’ve been there in the ring with people who’ve been in the ring with these Champions, and I did amazing with these people.
So it goes to show what would happen right still we’re so I’m I am my biggest critic and – and I wish I wasn’t – I wish I wasn’t like that.
Looking back because I didn’t give myself as much credit as I should have looking back at everything and you know, but the girls who I’ve been in the ring with they know what they felt and they always will reach out randomly and tell me yeah.
Damn you were you, were you know, amazing, you were so you were one of my hardest fights.
You were so damn fast.
I couldn’t see the damn punch when, but it hit me, you know the things that they say and it would make me feel like man.
I I’m glad it’s hard, like you know, um, yeah and yeah, and you know, outside of what record is and outside of of of what who you fought being a professional, a professional athlete that alone that alone, it just take.
Take your head off yeah.
You know what I mean: it takes a lot, a lot yup and I I used to I used to work in the emergency room.
I used to always work at a hospital.
While I was boxing – and I remember the doctors, a lot of the big doctors would would go wow so nice to meet you, and you know I was young 18 19.
and I’d be like wow.
A doctor wants to meet me and then you know they would say things like you know it’s, it’s remarkable wow that you are able to just dedicate yourself to make that weight and and and train and every day, and they were so impressed and I’m like I Get it now I get it now.
You did it yeah, but not in the moment in the moment you’re just like.
Why are you wanting to talk to me like what I’m just work here and it’s it’s so freaking easy? I mean I’m spoiled now.
I spoil myself now, and it is so easy to just say, give me that chocolate cake.
It is so easy to say I want some fried chicken tonight.
It is so easy to say you know what uh I’m a little too sore.
I’M not gon na go to the gym tomorrow and back when I thought that was not a thing for me.
I was numb I used to tell people.
I was a.
I was a machine yeah.
Oh, I you have pain, you have soreness, you have a oh you’re, sick, oh you’re, coughing! Oh, you threw up last night, get your ass in the gym.
That was my lifestyle and that was normal right yeah.
Exactly exactly so.
I look back and I’m like you know what I I was.
I was pretty damn amazing.
You know and they’re all pretty damn amazing.
I agree.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I do know we started talking about it, but talking about some of your your amateur days.
Talking about your amateur days, you did start coming in.
Finally, after convincing your dad um to really take you seriously, let you actually compete because I know he was a little resistant at first um trying to deter you, but you did accumulate a record of 98 wins only 10 losses as an amateur talking of accomplishments.
It’S going to take me a minute for this one y’all so bear with me.
She racked a very long list of titles and accomplishments in the amateurs um 2000.
So, oh 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Junior Olympic champion uh, 030405 silver, Gloves, champ, 2, 125, pound National Golden Glove, champ, 2004, USA, champ, 2005, blue and gold, champ and 2005 pal champ did I get them all yep, okay and the Junior Olympics were in there.
I just that was, I won the Junior Olympics when I was 16.
, but it was jail.
304.
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
I was 16 when I won the uh because they didn’t.
Let me go when I was 12 to to uh regionals.
They don’t let you go District, so I won District Junior Olympics and so we’re ending USA.
Women’S um I had bought and I got a silver medal, but man, I don’t know I feel like I won.
You know I I had a few of those uh fights of the amateur.
What do we all do? I think we all do hey.
We all do well walk us through some of your most memorable fights um from your amateur career, like what some of your most memorable fights or most special belts that you got or titles.
You know what it would have to be the Golden Gloves, and this is why I was set up to fight Emily kleinfelter.
I know you’re familiar with who Emily I fought Katie, I don’t know.
If I am, I think I fought Katie kind, felter Katie Katie was the older sister yeah and, and there and Emily’s husband was the coach and it was Katie and Emily kleinfelter yeah and the Nationals yeah.
You thought you thought the bigger one.
Katie was the bigger sister yeah, okay yeah and I uh Emily was the smaller one um she was 118.
.
I remember yeah yeah.
She was playing dude.
I remember when um I was I was in the Golden Gloves and we knew that we were scheduled to fight uh Emily, like I want to say on um on the first day, because you know it’s it’s a week long and then, when we were, we were Told by the commission to come back on Friday and finals that that I got ta buy for Wednesday that I wouldn’t have to fight Wednesday and that I would end up just having a fight Friday and she her name, got drawn to fight on Wednesday.
So she would have to fight twice.
I would have to fight her in the finals I Got ta Buy and um.
We came on Thursday to you know just to like see the fights and they said.
Oh, where were you and we’re like what they were like? Where were you yesterday yesterday yeah? Your name was on the schedule you were supposed to fight yesterday and and my dad we had flown on my dad’s dollar, no sponsors all the way to Chicago to to for this tournament.
For me and my dad was like oh hell, no, you guys told me and we were expected to fight Friday.
What are you talking about Wednesday? Why are y’all pulling this on me and back then you know my dad was always like, oh y’all, being political, because y’all want Emily to win and we don’t.
I mean I don’t know what it was.
We don’t know the truth, but that’s just my dad and and so that they said.
Look we’re gon na ask Emily if she’s, okay, with taking the fight with you, Friday and and if she’s a I know, look look where this is going and and that she’s okay with accepting you.
But but you would not win the title if you win because you were disqualified, but it would you wouldn’t have flown all the way out here for nothing.
So it was called a uh.
They call it like a um exhibition and – and my dad was like well I’m out here just I just want the experience.
I don’t care anymore at this point, so they went up to Emily kleinfelter and her husband.
Now it wasn’t her husband then, but it was her coach back then said absolutely not Kalisha was disqualified.
It’S not fair.
There’S no reason for her to do that.
To herself we’re gon na win or we’re gon na, take our walk or buy whatever it was and be crowned as the 118 Golden Gloves champion, and so at the same time I was fighting there or was this after I went pro, it probably was uh.
I want to say it was 2000, it was 2006.
yeah.
This was, I think, no, no, I’m lying.
This is not 2006.
.
This was 2004.
, it had to be four 2004.
and um, and then so – and I wonder if I was there – you probably were because I had met Ada Velez, I met Belinda.
I met a lot of uh and females who were like Champions were coming up and stuff yeah.
There was a lot.
There was a lot of women there.
It was, it was uh, it was, I wonder if it was the same year.
I fought her and I fought Teresa a tool and when I fought uh Emma or Katie, I remember chorizo tool fighting.
I dropped Theresa a tool.
I remember her fighting, so it probably was because I don’t mean I didn’t see you there.
If I mean I didn’t know, I’m gon na pull up the archives, that’s what I’m gon na do, but but but so so anyway, so we were like um.
She said, no, I’m not gon na do it.
So then they say you know what uh we do have a 122 pounder who ended up getting a walk over, because there was nobody at 122.
And if your daughter is is okay with moving up in weight, then she can fight the 122 pounder.
If we confirm with her and let her know that somebody moved up, so I wouldn’t be disqualified because I’m moving to a news, they’re moving up in a weight class and she hasn’t been having me to fight right, and so they asked they asked the other girl And the other girl was game.
She was like yeah this little girl, I’m gon na beat her up yeah she’s, trying to come up to 122 and so, and it was just so funny because I I remember I ate McDonald’s that morning I was eating everything because I had just been a small 118 pounder and I ended up being 118.
6 and then and then and then when, when when I fought this fight Brooke, let me tell you: let me tell you first off, we have this on a video somewhere.
Oh, I got ta, look it up, but she she was big.
She wasn’t just like skinny and tall.
She was like a little bit taller than me and she was Hefty and she went out there trying to knock me out and – and this was the first time I really tried the uppercut I’ll never forget I was like and her head was like and then I Did because it worked, I did it the whole fight.
I did uppercuts the whole.
I was like crazy.
Her husband was like like a bobblehead.
She I just hey, I stuck to what worked, and that was that and then and then after I won the fight.
You know, obviously I was so skinny and so little compared to her and I had wanted to fight and – and I remember everybody uh was coming up to me and they were like that.
Uppercut and all I was thinking was like.
I was like the first.
I just learned that right.
I just learned that thing I was like I’m just wearing that today that that was the reason why – and I was talking to boxing scene earlier – was because um you know I had gone.
I had gotten bullied a lot back in the day and when I was a freshman when I came back and I won the Golden Gloves, they did a seven page article in the Press, Enterprise.
I was on the front page.
Follow me in school and next thing you know the whole high school was like: what’s up champ, hey chicken, that was when my nickname became the champ and nobody messed with me.
Nobody messing me ever again.
Nobody called me nothing because if anybody called me a name, the other person will say oh champion and knock you out male or female.
It goes both ways.
These hands are bisexual.
They work both ways.
Okay, exactly I got.
I got respect on the streets.
That was one of my favorite ones, I mean the other.
One I would say is uh is um when I punched a girl and right here in the center of her stomach.
This was the national she threw up in the middle of the Ring.
Oh my God.
She just bit all over the ring, that’s one I remember, and then you know you know um at the Lilac Ruiz.
They call her El Cobra, so a lot of she’s a little badass and when she was coming up, you know we’re the same age.
We was the same weight class same region, same district and um.
She, when I fought her, I only had a couple fights and I had I had beat her teammate.
I beat the other sister on the teammate and then I fought her and I beat her and I’ll, never forget how hard she was crying in the bathroom and then she came back.
We rematched and she beat my ass and then [ Applause ].
She wanted something.
She had some real some personal stuff, but then we we ended up slugging it out five times and every time we fought you know I hate to say it.
She’Ll tell you the truth.
I mean I mean if she keeps it real.
I don’t know, but I had I want to say it was 50 50.
.
You know what I mean with the with the uh who would win, of course, LBC.
They gave it to her everybody loved her.
I lived in SoCal where it’s predominantly Mexican, and you know what I mean like they: they favored all their Mexican Champions way back this 20.
This is 20 years ago.
You know this is when that you know the politics, and the amateurs were really really bad yeah, because you couldn’t you couldn’t just open up an iPhone or record it and put somebody on blast on social media, so people got away with whatever they got away with.
Whatever they want to do, it was a part of it.
It was normal.
You know what I mean I just we, we was used to it, but but there are, there are officials who ended up becoming Pro officials to this day, who remember mine and her fights and and the standing ovations we would get, because we were both a hundred Miles per hour, and we would just we would go toe to toe toe toe to toe back and forth in neither one of us would quit.
I definitely give her that second fight, but that other the other time we fought.
What ended up happening is I, I fought two different styles, the first style.
I tried the boxer and move around and and it just in the amateurs you can’t do that you can’t box you you you back it up, you lose them if they see your back.
You’Re lost, you cannot box, there’s no such thing as boxing, but then the last fight.
I remember I said I’m going toe to [ __ ] trouble.
Tonight.
I remember I remember my dad said I remember my dad said he said uh.
He said we going to war, he always would say just like that.
We go in the war and I and I give thanks to my mama because she Mexican and she gave me that hard head, so I was able to do both when I wanted to, and so I went well.
I went to told her and I know I won that fight like it’s.
Not even you know how you, you know how you finish and you’re, just like you, like yeah, I felt I felt her face Smash in my in my in my fist and then you think about how you feeling you feeling good.
Like you, ain’t got.
You ain’t got nothing to hurt that time, you I knew you know and they they gave it to her.
But it’s okay, it’s okay, because the whole crowd stood up.
Everybody was hugging me everybody was it was it felt like we both won.
You know what I’m saying: like everybody said, these two girls are amazing.
You know she ended up going down a different path than me.
She she went and had kids and stopped boxing.
I went and turned Pro so I became a world champion and then now I’m starting kids and she came back after kids and now she’s gone and became a WBC champion.
So it’s just regardless of what happened.
Everybody saw two world champions in that ring that night and that’s exactly what happened, and I do believe everything happens for a reason because me and her would have been duking it out in the beginning of my pro career.
Oh my gosh yeah that would have been fire that would have been a crazy match.
I mean she’s, just it’s, it’s elusive.
You know what I’m saying: it’s elusive the way she is because her style, it doesn’t look like she will knock or or Scare or put somebody on the edge of their seat.
But when you’re in there, with her that same little girl that was crying in the bathroom that I’ll never forget after I beat her she fights with that she fights every every single fight with that and when you’re fighting somebody with that kind of heart it, I Don’T care what type of bad habit they have? I don’t care if they drop their left.
The whole fight with that type of heart you fighting for your life yeah, so they’re just coming right, so good for her for becoming a champion and coming back after you know, starting their life and starting kids and then coming back later and later in life.
Good for her yeah, absolutely absolutely um, now speaking of in 2006, after being advised that they weren’t again gon na have the Olympics for women in 2008 um just two weeks.
Oh, come on hurry up and say hi my husband’s gon na say hi her! Oh he’s gon na he’ll be back.
He went to get some, I don’t know um.
You decided to turn pro at um just two few weeks after your 18th birthday, which come to figure out.
We both went pro in 2006.
, oh wow, because I went through in 2006.
um.
Oh here he is okay, come say, hi how you doing long time? No see yeah, I know right how’s things, everything’s good man, time flies.
I can’t believe how long it’s been.
I just can’t believe it yeah it’s wild.
We all! We I’m over here, I’m over here, moving five ten times because as a boxer, you have arthritis everywhere.
Your body feels like you’re, 50 years old, like come on, I’m like I’m like yeah the skin.
The skin is okay y’all, but you don’t understand being an athlete for 25 years.
Your whole body hurts I’m like.
I always have extra pillows.
You know too.
Oh Michael said hello, Michael, hey, hey, Michael, I’m, not ignoring your guys’s comments over there.
I will.
I promise 100 make Kalisha answer every one of your questions, but some of the questions y’all are asking.
We are going to talk about so um.
Just give me a minute we will, we will talk about them um.
So anyway, we both went pro in 2006.
.
You went pro at 18, though I was probably oh, my God I was probably like.
I don’t know, 20 four five.
I don’t know, I think, I’m I’m several years older than you.
I think you’re yeah you’re a couple, I’m 35.
Now so, okay, so yeah, I will be 42 this year, yeah you’re six about six yeah, so yeah I was in my 20s when I went pro.
I got a late start, but anyways um tell us about the decision and your experience transitioning from the Emmys to the pros, so I remember when they announced that women weren’t going to be in the Olympics.
I remember having this conversation with my dad and we were very big on um some Fighters that spend so long in the amateurs and then they don’t really make great pros, and what I mean by that is that, is you develop a textbook boxing where you’re you’re Focused on it’s a style, you know and you’re focused on points and you’re focused on these other things, and then we don’t even know if you have a chin, because if you go pro you can be the greatest amateur fighter.
But if you don’t have a chin, you not going to do well so yeah and – and I don’t care whether to amateur fight or to Pro fight.
Every punch that you get hit by your body is an engine, and you only can put so many miles on your engine until the damage is going to start to show you’re going to start to feel it you’re going to start to get worn and torn down.
You know you you putting damage on your body, so when we found out that the women weren’t going to be in the next Olympics, I would I was going to be 20 years old and then we’d have to wait for the following.
I’D be end up being what 24 something like that whatever with and that wasn’t even a yes or no, it was a maybe so it’s like yeah! Oh, so you want me to wait this long for a maybe um that would be stupid, yeah and the main reason why why I went pro when I was 18 is because I hated the amateurs, some people, some people, I hated the amateurs and it was because You know locally, there were favorites and – and it was just a numbers game, it was a Sprint, it was at you know and and it and that’s just how it was, and then they didn’t let women back then go to uh Internationals.
I wasn’t able to go to Hawaii.
I wasn’t able to travel for these International tournaments one.
I remember uh, winning, uh, Regional and then commission would say.
Oh congratulations, you’re finished, but then my my teammate, a guy would say.
Oh so when are the uh? You know, Nationals gon na be winter.
International is going to be, and I’d be like wait.
Why is he asking about the next and then they’d say? Oh you you’re.
You can’t go to that.
Why? Because you’re a female and back then I was.
I was always like: oh okay, so females don’t go, you know because I was young right uh, but but now that I’m older, it’s like that’s some [ __ ].
You know what I mean like just because I’m a female.
I cannot go.
Y’All, don’t have it for women, you know to be able to go and and compete on those levels, that’s the damn, shame and um, and so it just it wasn’t.
It wasn’t really for me and my dad we didn’t feel we felt like we’ve got all that we can get from that.
We had a ton of fights.
I could see if I, if I started boxing when I was 15 16 yeah, that’s crazy, but I had gotten eight.
I had gotten eight years already, both in the gym and competing in the amateurs.
So we were like.
Ah it’s time, let’s go.
Let’S start growing and then my first fight, I remember when they took off the headgear I was like.
I can see better yeah right.
I was like wow wow better and I love I love everything’s quicker.
Everything feels faster.
I love that I could see more.
I just I I loved the pros compared to the amateurs I never liked wearing headgear.
I naturally was super excited for pros.
I, like the small gloves I love, I mean I grew up fighting all the boys in the garage and the neighbors.
I grew up.
No headgear just Knuckles and doing doing dumb stuff.
You know I was a street kid.
I was I like to say I was an alley cat, but but yeah I remember just loving the transition and it wasn’t even like attention, because I didn’t get a lot of attention.
A lot of people think I got a lot of attention for some reason internationally or in other states.
They all thought that I was just this glorified female boxer in California, but I always had to fight to get on cards with Golden Gloves.
You know these local promoters, we had, we had to say: okay, we’ll take a purse cut, we’ll sell 100 tickets um and then we will uh fly the girl.
We had to negotiate like begging for us to be put on these cards, but my dad he was he’s a computer programmer, so he was always talking talking to different Fighters, pulling them in pulling them in grabbing them all over.
You know helping the Matchmaker because they didn’t know nothing about women’s boxing yeah hoping the Matchmaker get things together and then helping you know PR getting stories out and selling these tickets and – and I always did sell out locally.
Never never did I never.
I’M never not sold out, and that was mainly because I had generated a name in the amateurs, so the people, the people wanted me to fight.
My local community loved me to fight.
I was the Grand Marshal in the city parade.
I was provided with the proclamation of city of Moreno Valley.
You know I had my fourth grade teacher at my at my fight that wrote a note in my locker room and said your fourth grade teacher is here.
You know it was a I if I ever fought a local casino sold out, but but the way promoters looked at it is they just looked at it as that extra card? That’S gon na that’s gon na bring that in bring in money.
In case these guys don’t pack out, but I’m investing in.
You know what I’m saying, because this was back when Timothy Bradley was being promoted by Thompson boxing, and you know he became a superstar and every Small Time promoter.
That’S what they want.
You know they they want that next great male fighter, that’s gon na bring them a lot of money or bring them a big dollar fight in the future.
So they try to tie up these guys and that’s what used to happen, but but otherwise all politics aside.
I loved Pro versus amateur boxing, yeah, absolutely um.
Let me scroll back before.
I continue with my questions and go to some of the questions we got people asking over here.
Let’S see um Collins would like to know.
What’S the difference between a night Ava Knight, I’m assuming he means and Claudia Lopez? Oh that’s a good question like they want.
They want to know what the difference is between them.
Yeah um.
You know what Ava Knight and Claudia Lopez.
That’S a good question.
You know.
Claudia was a southpaw and she Claudia was really really tough.
She was naturally bigger than me.
I remember when we fought.
We questioned the scale and when we got on the scale it the the skeletons, it was like a magnet and we both right.
We both weighed the exact same thing and, and she was a fill-in and I was the one who was promoted at the time, but she was a feeling because somebody dropped out, but she was big.
We could tell that she was a lot bigger than me.
She had to have been 132 or 140, something by the time she bought me.
She was big and she was elected and I had trained for a right-handed boxer.
So when a southpaw was dropped on me last minute it was kind of like [ __ ].
Well, let me box and let me do what I got to do, whereas with Ava both times I fought Ava.
My Camp was 100 focused on Ava’s style.
You know so with Claudia.
I felt a lot more uncomfortable with the style that I was going in because I’m a thinker when I fight I’m a boxer, I think about things I like to plan out things and then I execute and it just she caught me.
She caught me a little bit off guard because I didn’t there was no footage on Claudia.
There was no uh information, we just knew she was tough as hell and she had a lot of upsets on her record and at that time I had to defend my title or you know what I mean I was gon na lose it I had to.
I had a choice for women, you take, you take what you can get or they strip you of the title.
If you don’t defend it in a certain amount of months, oh yeah um, so so yeah I mean with Ava.
As far as I would say, geez.
It’S hard to to compare them because Ava’s 118 and this other girl is just a lot bigger of a fighter yeah.
You know.
If you look at who that girl fought, she fought bigger girls yeah.
So if that girl was able to squeeze down to 118, you know, then that’s another story of comparing, but I just it’s hard for me to compare them, because it’s two different weight classes, totally they’re they’re both equally, you know tough, like they were both very tough Fights for me and just one was a lefty, so it’s like it’s like trying to compare apples and grapes to me yeah.
Well, I mean, I guess the biggest difference is this wall too the size and one was the difference between the two yeah and and people.
Don’T understand this, a lot of people don’t understand that size.
It does matter size.
It makes a huge difference because, like just like uh Ryan, Garcia was complaining after the fight that he wasn’t able to gain more than 10 pounds before he fought Davis because of a clause that they had in their contract.
And then, when you look at Ryan’s past fights and what he fought at and and that moving up that one-way class, it’s just it makes a huge you know difference because Fighters we suck down, we dry out just to get to the weight that we’re trying to Get to so if somebody is sucking down to 125.
That means they’re, naturally 160.
.
If somebody’s sucking down to 118, then they’re, naturally 140.
.
You know what I’m saying it’s a on paper.
You know in the ring it’s five pounds: oh we’re within three pounds, but in reality it’s always 20 pound 20 pound difference yeah, so so people naturally suck down 20 pounds.
So if you have somebody that usually fights in a weight class above that you’re gon na be looking at somebody who’s coming down 40 pounds, you know it’s just it’s and then even in the ring, you know when I Jab you know or when I throw a Punch you, you could feel the impact kind of buckles and back.
But when you have a bigger person it don’t it’s like you, don’t even yeah.
They don’t need your help, but it’s like they’re they’re, not even phased by it.
You just got to beat the hell out of them, because there ain’t nothing, nothing you’re gon na do that’s gon na make them retreat, no back up nothing, and that was how it was with Claudia like I was.
I was throwing some really good shots and I remember they were Landing clean and she just was like a machine just walking forward, walking forward, walking forward and then with, whereas Ava I remember connecting with Ava, and I see that she would be like.
Oh, you know she would back up a little bit and try to be a little bit more careful coming in.
So it’s just two different weight classes.
Two different Fighters can’t really compare those two I got you um Collins also want to know.
What’S your favorite fight, you know my favorite fight, it has to be it has.
It has to be Angel gladney and the reason why is a lot of people don’t put into consideration the training camp leading up to the fight? They just look at the fight yeah, but whoever I was gon na be in the ring with.
I was gon na knock them.
The [ __ ] out excuse my language, but no you’re.
Fine.
You see what I’m saying because yeah that fight it’s a switch for me it.
It was a switch that I turned on and I had never in my career trained that hard.
Ever I remember the fitness coach that I was working with.
Had the incline all the way up on the treadmill and he had the the setting speed on the highest speed – and I just remember him screaming at me – keep going keep going and I was just going and and when I first started training camp I couldn’t do But 20 seconds by the end of my training camp I was going and going and going and going and if you look at the photos of my body, you know for that it it my body it was ripped.
There was just no fat, it was.
I was in tremendous shape and it was because it was at the Staples Center.
It was, you know the WBO, it was in my hometown and it was like wow.
I have an opportunity to be a world champion and and uh.
We it just didn’t matter who I was going to be the real with.
I I felt like this is it this is my big break.
You know this is my big break and I remember in the beginning I was throwing up in the beginning of training camp.
I was throwing up and then, by the time it got to the end of my training camp I was just I like you touched me.
It’S just pure muscle.
I was just so in great shape.
You know I felt I felt so good going in there and then so, because I felt so good and and I lost the weight.
Naturally I was, I had a dietitian, you know helping me because a lot of my career I’ll be honest with you.
Brooke people don’t know this, but I did not lose weight healthy.
I did not have support of dietitian always had it stupid.
I just didn’t.
Have all that extra stuff.
You know what I’m saying that yeah.
I don’t even know how I was winning, but but yeah this fight.
I actually had all of that and it was being taken very serious because of what we had on the table.
You know and then and then two we were said we were going to be a the bi fight.
If, if there’s a knockout and we’d be televised yeah, there was Knockouts all that night except the main event and we didn’t get televised.
So that was that, but that was one of my favorite fights.
My other favorite fight was when I, when I rematched Ava, because I know I beat her ass.
I know I boxed her.
I know yeah I won.
I won that fight Brooke.
I won it and – and I remember just because she she was like my kryptonite – she was the only fighter in my whole career that beat me legitimately.
Like she humbled me, I was 10-0 when I fought her and I was like I’m gon na beat this girl up.
You know, and – and she went in there and boom caught me in the first round – and she stunned me with a straight left because she came out left-handed and I didn’t even expect that and boom knock me clean out my tracks and stop me in my in My tracks and I was like okay, okay, this girl go ahead and then okay, I’m a resort to violence.
I tried to go toe-to-toe and I was getting beat, but I was still punching and so so um, oh, my goodness, this girl, she she humbled me so much so when I had the rematch she was not supposed to be my fight.
I was supposed to defend my title versus uh, some girl from New Mexico, and then the commission wouldn’t pass it, which was dumb because the girl had knocked out the last three fights.
But that’s California, commission, for you, whatever uh, that’s how it was for women and and so they, my dad said he I had.
I think, six weeks before the fight he said well, the only one that wants to fight.
You is Ava [, Music ] and I remember I’m like damn man I was like man but I’ll never forget.
I was on the treadmill in the garage and I looked at him and I knew – and I was like so I remember I just looked all like so he was like the only one that wants to fight.
You is Ava because he likes to get my reaction.
You know yeah and I looked at him and I was like so I don’t care.
I was just I I because I wanted that rematch yeah deep deep inside.
I really wanted that rematch and her coach after the fight went up to me and he said, hey coach to my dad.
He said: hey good job man y’all got this one though it was a good fight.
We got ta do this again, but y’all got this.
One her coach told us that before they before they said the decision and then uh one Senator draw one said I won and then the other one who didn’t give it to me uh.
He actually does not like us.
That judge did not like us.
I won’t.
I won’t say his name because he doesn’t even deserve a shout out, but he he uh used to tell a lot of other people that he doesn’t like my style.
He doesn’t like the way I boxed and uh.
He was there and he didn’t.
He didn’t like this, he didn’t vote for me.
He probably didn’t even box.
No, he has no boxing history whatsoever, so shut up, yeah yeah right.
I just know when I first fought her.
She had caught me so many times Queen, but this last time I fought her.
She did not.
She did not catch me with anything that hurt me anything that stunned me and I I was I just sure, looking and and yeah.
Of course she caught me, but nothing like the first fight, and I just I remember I was so much more relaxed because the first time I fought her, I fought her fight, yeah she’s, a scrapper.
She is a toe-to-toe scrapper get in your face and I did that I fought her fight, but the second time I fought her, I was picking my shots.
I was bouncing always everything was connecting it was like I was swimming.
You know I felt real good and I remember I was even I was counting.
I was counting the uh, the what’s it called the.
I was counting the dang.
I can’t remember the word, I’m thinking of uh.
I was counting each session.
Oh, my God, I’m having a brain each round.
Yes, thank you, God.
I had a brain fart thanks thanks boxing mess up my memory, no I’m just kidding, but I was counting each round and I had given her four.
I want to say I gave her.
I gave her four, and that was like me, being nice like okay, well, that one was close.
Could it went either way? I guess I’ll get yeah out of a 10 round title fight, so I had given her four, so I knew like I had clearly won, and that was that, but now we’re best friends so yeah.
I had one like that too.
Well.
I’Ve had several, obviously where I think I won the fight and I didn’t but um one very similar to that um in Colorado.
When I fought Jennifer Barber.
Oh, you just took me back to Memory Lane when I beat Jennifer Barbara’s butt in the amateur and they gave it to her yeah.
It was the same scenario when we went to that fight um.
The promoter was like all about us and all we’re gon na bring you out here and it’s like you’re gon na the show’s gon na, be all about you.
We show up there and we meet the guy and he carried around like his little folder book thing.
What the [ __ ] cover of his book was Jennifer, Barber yeah.
Why is Jennifer on your thing and he’s like? Oh, this is the line I blew it off whatever so yeah, but that fight the same type of thing like her coach came up afterwards and said you know, I mean pretty much, definitely thought that she lost and they gave her the decision.
So yeah we’ve been in a similar scenario but yeah in the amateurs, but she was always there.
We never got crossed but yeah.
We fought in the pros and I still think I beat her ass yeah.
The only reason why I fought her was because, when I was an amateur we called it uh practice practice fight.
So I used to move from 106 to 112 to 118 to 125 to 132.
I went as high as 132, but we knew we could do that because I we haven’t had gear and some big gloves and I had moved all the way up to 132 uh to fight Jennifer, Barbara, and I just remember I had I easily boxed her out And they gave it to her, I mean it was.
It was probably a little bit close, I guess but yeah, but it we we felt, but she was favored.
She was always favored, always favorited.
Always oh yeah amateurs was her.
That was her deal yeah.
She you couldn’t you’d, need a dropper and make it very very significant to to get a master, absolutely exactly absolutely um.
My buddy Michael Orr is in the house, that’s who was talking earlier.
He also has tons of shows on talk and fight.
So if you’re into the podcast thing, he knows everything there is to know about boxing um, but he said: what’s up, wow wow can’t wait to hear your story from the beginning.
We’Re getting there we’re getting there.
Michael um.
Did you check on the amateurs? Michael? You said you were gon na check was: were we fighting at that same tournament together? Let me know in the in the comments if we were at the same at the same tournament um at the Golden Globes in Chicago um.
I will answer some more of your questions.
Collins, but I’m gon na answer a couple more of mine and we maybe we’ll answer them in between um um, so uh February.
23Rd.
2006 is when you made your pro debut, but I was very um impressed because it was similar to like my beginning of my career.
You fought Susanna Warner, who was a former title holder and she was two and two um.
You fought her for for your pro debut, but you did you knocked her down in the first round and won a unanimous, but that was a very tough opponent for your pro debut.
How did you feel was there I mean? Was she a challenge for you at all being a former title holder and it would be in your pro debut at 18? You know I hate to say this, I’m gon na say it with love and respect, but she wasn’t much of a challenge for me, but this is why? Because I fought her Kryptonite and I’m a firm believer that Styles make fights yeah a specific style might have been what she could tee off on, but yeah, thus the style that I had gone in there with, because I knew she was a lefty and – and I Knew any time I fought a southpaw, I used to know no other, no other style, but get in her face with a right hand and go straight down the middle one.
Two one two hook, one two, one two.
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