Boxing 
She’s young, tough, entertaining, and is raring and ready to throw down on any given night, and come December 12th the bantamweight sensation Kaliesha West 11-1-(2) will do so again as she steps in with Kasha Chamblin 11-4-(5).
The once beaten rising star is not just another lady in the business of boxing trying it out for fun or to show off, but the twenty-one year old West lives and breathes boxing and is in search of not only a world title, but to cement her name in the sport of boxing period.
Her father Juan West was a professional in the mid nineties, and the love of the sport was passed down to Kaliesha, who was an amateur stand out winning several titles in compiling up a 98-10 record.
The California native made her debut in February of 2006, and won her first ten matches before dropping her one and only loss. West bounced back in the win column by defeating Mia St. John conqueror, Rolanda Andrews via unanimous decision.
Now Kaliesha West is back and is ready for another throw down in her journey to the top of the crop. In this exclusive interview conducted by Convicted Artist Magazine, West speaks out on her upcoming fight, enjoy.
Benny Henderson Jr.
What has been going down in the world of Kaliesha West?
Kaliesha West
I have been picking it up to bring my weight down because I have decided to drop weight going back down to my natural fighting weight of 118-pounds. Training has been intense in preparation for my next fight coming up December 12th against Tasha Chamblin.
BH
I have been ringside for one of her fights, she seems like a very tough individual.
KW
She is a pretty tough girl, she is not just anybody, she has a name in the business.
BH
What preparations are you making for this fight?
KW
I have been getting a lot of sparring, I have been doing a lot of exercises with my hands, just throwing a million punches, just throwing a lot of punches, we have been working on letting my hands go.
BH
I really don’t want to get negative, but I have to ask, you had a ten fight win streak before dropping a loss to Ava Knight, of course you bounced back with a win, but I want to know, how was your mentality after dropping your first professional bout?
KW
You know what, when I started boxing I lost my first amateur fight, and I don’t mean it was a close decision either. I had two eight counts and was knocked around the ring, after I lost the fight when the ref was holding both of our arms, I kept asking the girl for a rematch, I was yelling, “When we going to rematch, I want a rematch!” I have the type of mentality which it pisses me off when I fail, and it always makes me come back harder trying to do something different and push myself even more to come back and win. A lot of people don’t have heart after losing, and when you lose a fight that is really a test.
So when I fought against Ava, and took my first professional loss, all I was thinking was when we were going to rematch, I wanted a rematch by the end of the year. But they wanted bigger things because they realized how tough of a match it was. I would love a rematch against Knight, but she lost her last fight, and injured her back, so I don’t even know if she is going to continue to box. Now I am focusing on a title, I try to go even higher; if she doesn’t fight again I will fight the girl she lost too.
BH
How fulfilling was it to get back into the won column?
KW
I really didn’t feel any different, I was just excited to be fighting, and it was almost a year after the Knight fight when I finally got another fight. It was impossible to get a fight.
BH
What separates you from the other ladies in the fight world?
KW
The main thing is that I understand the art and science of boxing, and I love and keep doing boxing. I not only box, but I follow boxing. I have been boxing since I was ten, it is something that is part of my life, I love and have passion for the sport, and that love and passion helps my abilities to learn more and to be just as skilled as the men. Most women in the sport box because they like the attention in being a pretty girl in the sport, some girls just fight because they think it is cool, but they don’t know boxing. I am 24/7 boxing, and I think that separates me from the other female fighters. I don’t get paid a lot of money to fight like the men do, but I am still doing it. It is what I love to do.
BH
Why come see you fight, or tune in to the television to witness a Kaliesha West fight?
KW
Because, it might hurt me or make me, but I love the people, I love when the crowd is pumped, it pumps me up. It is like Manny Pacquiao when he comes out to fight he is smiling at the crowd, thank you for supporting me and thank you for the love. I enjoy the love and I always put on an entertaining show for the people, it is not boring.
BH
If you could send out a message to you upcoming opponent, what would you say?
KW
Don’t expect a pushover, because I am in it to win it!
BH
Anything in closing?
KW
Once again thanks Benny for the interview and supporting me, and hopefully come December 12th we will bring an entertaining show for the fans of women’s boxing.
I would like to thank Jerry Gonzalez for setting up this interview, and a thank you goes out to Kaliesha West for sharing her time and thoughts. For more info on West, checkout her site www.kaystar.net
Also, check out Fightin’ Words Radio, listen to Bob Carroll, Butch and "THE Big Dog" Benny Henderson Jr. every Wednesday night on Fightin' Words Radio Show from 8-9pm EST. To listen live via the internet, go to http://1490wwpr.com and look for the "listen here" tab.
Questions or comments, hit me up at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
