12 Rounds with Kasha Chamblin 

What are your ambitions in the sport, have you got anything lined up at the moment?

My ambitions are like any other athlete I suppose, to become a champion in my sport, to leave something behind, and to be remembered for what I gave in my glory and beyond.  Lined up, well, that’s my team’s duty, I’ll know when I’m supposed to know…..but, I did overhear some things of interest….stay tuned for more…..

How did you get into boxing was it something that you always wanted to do?

It was something I was interested in doing when I was a young teenager but I never pursued it. 

Later in life, after my tour of duty with the Marine Corps, I got my younger brother involved in boxing and fell in love with it myself.

At the time, Dangerous Deirdre Gogarty, the Undisputed Featherweight Champion of the World, was training at the same gym as my little brother, so I began to train along side her not even realizing the unbelievable privilege that was before me. 

As I trained, I got to know her and we quickly became inseparable.  After a few years, I still had not realized the magnitude of the legacy of Dangerous Deirdre until one night when we were out at a fight. We had gone to many fights and I had become accustomed to people asking her for her autograph so when we went to see Christy Martin and Laila Ali in Biloxi, it was no different.   

As we walked into the arena, it was fan after fan recalling her battle with Christy Martin on the Tyson vs Bruno undercard.  I remembered hearing about that match when I was in the Marines but I had never seen it.  Earlier that day, I met someone who told me to pick up a black case, remove the contents and put it on. I did as I was told and found myself wearing the very belt that Laila and Christy were going to fight for that very evening. It was surreal and I was told, “If that doesn’t motivate you, then I don’t know what will, now put it away before you mess it up!” 

Again, I did as I was told. 

I began to think about that as Deirdre and I sat there waiting for the fights to begin when Beau, our manager tapped Deirdre on the shoulder and said, “Come on girls, Laila wants to meet Deirdre before the match.”  We went back and met with her and she expressed that she had decided to box after she saw Deirdre fight Christy. 

I was enamored. 

As we walked back into the Coliseum, Christy’s people came out and said that Christy wanted to see Deirdre before the bout as well, so we went to her room. I had no words as we walked out and Muhammed Ali came down the isle with his security team. He pushed his head security agent to the side and grabbed Beau’s arm as he passed and said, “that’s Beau Williford”.  Beau introduced us to Mr. Ali and he leaned over and hugged my grandfather as he sat in his wheelchair just beside the ring. 

These kinds of things continued to happen, everywhere we went I would be introduced to people and they would say, “oh, I heard about you, you’re Beau’s girl”, or “you’re Deirdre’s girl” and I continued to enjoy myself in the gym.  Deirdre formally retired and had the time to turn her attention to me for a while. I sparred more and more and got my first amateur match and we just went from there. I just keep going; still learning, still passionate, still fortunate, and still having a great time. I have been truly blessed to be in the presence of greatness many times but for them to recognize me is my truly one of the most uplifting feelings in the world, I think.

Your only loss came to unbeaten world champion Ina Menzer, will you be looking for a rematch in the future to avenge the defeat, or are you just concentrating on the future?

I feel like Ina is a great champion and a great person.  I felt that things may have been different under different circumstances but for whatever the reason, at that time in my career, it was time for me to learn an invaluable lesson…..defeat. Deirdre once told me that, for a fighter, it isn’t the undefeated record that is impressive, it is how a fighter comes back from a loss to become a champion. If there are no losses, how does one really prevail when all is crushed, how do you see the measure of a man when there is nothing for him to get off the mat from?  I asked Ina that night if we could do this again and she did not seem too apt to do so.  I respect the decision of her and her team but I would like to rematch her.  I am naturally 118lbs and Ina is 126lbs so I did have to struggle a bit to get there. I weighed in on a full belly and fully clothed to barely make 123lbs.  I would have great difficulty getting back up there so I am content in staying at my weight and appreciating the experience for now. 

I recently fought someone who studied the footage from the Menzer fight and she was convinced that she could beat that fighter and I agree but when we faced off in the ring, by her own admission, that wasn’t the fighter she met at the end of the blows.  One may contend that the fight was too much, too soon and with too many extenuating circumstances but even recognizing that, I would do it all over again. I feel, as I expressed to Ina, that my record may have suffered a loss but I have not been beaten.  Those who have seen the footage agree so I am at peace with it.  My thirst for a rematch is only cultivated by the resolve that I feel that I have grown as a better fighter and am now a bit better than I was then not at all for the champion that took my “0”.  If any loss was suffered on my record, I’m am proud that it came by a great athlete like Ina Menzer.

I learned from that experience and I am thankful.  As for my future, I have a great team to worry about that for me, I just enjoy my time in the gym and do the best I can to give what there is to give of myself and my time to this sport and to my professional team as well as my amateur team.

With only 77 registered Featherweights in the world do you find it difficult to get the fights you want?, do you find that you have to take fights on short notice and at various weights, how frustrating is it? 

Yes, it is difficult to get fights but for many reasons.  To start, I have been offered a lot for the way that I look.  I have had opportunities come my way that weren’t exactly in line with my experience but more in line with the fact that I am, for lack of a better word, “attractive”.  I, along with my team feel like there are a lot of talented women out there who have put their time in, in this sport, and should have the opportunity before us so we respectfully decline and have continued to work our way through to earn those opportunities.  Though I am incredibly grateful,  I want to be a good example for this sport and show that hard work and dedication pay off not just a cute face.  I have also found difficulty in dealing with promoters who don’t want to pay for good opposition.  These particular promoters are not just biased to women; they are just inexperienced and typically have the same issues with my male counterparts as well. They are selling tickets on the basis that the crowd will “get to” see me and look past the fact that two athletes are putting it all out there. There are some great promoters out there but I’m kind of young in this game so once I’ve earned their eye, I’m sure it won’t be a problem anymore.

Please remember, I am also but a baby in this great sport so I have to learn as I go. I was not afforded the amateur experience that some women were.  I feel like the amateur program is developing impeccable champions on the men’s side but is lacking on the women’s side. Although women are aloud to box in the amateur circuit, they have to pay their own way to advancing tournaments and then there’s no big opportunity of Olympic dreams at the end of that tough journey as there is for the men. There were a few boxers that I was in the ring with who were making a pro debut or had little experience on the pro side but had many amateur bouts.  I believe that the mismatches and lack of worthy opposition would greatly decline if there were such an opportunity for Olympic prowess for women.

Last year, when I went to Ireland with my club, The Ragin Cajun Boxing Club, and I had the great pleasure of meeting Katie Taylor. I admire her so much for staying with her dream of becoming an Olympic Gold Medalist in our sport.  She has a great team who has dedicated themselves to helping her achieve that goal.  I understand that she has been offered a professional contract along with a list of attractive offers to follow but she held strong to her dreams. I know that she will bring home the Gold because she is what boxing is all about; passion, dedication, patience, remarkable skill and undying devotion to a dream that no one else realizes but her. GO GET EM’ KATIE!

You have had some great wins in your career, which do you regard as the best?

They are all great because I have learned from them all.  I feel like the best is yet to come. Deep down, I truly feel like my greatest moments in the ring are in the gym. I have shared the ring with great fighters from all over, both male and female. I am definitely not usually the victor in those matches but it’s a hell of a fight and an even better experience.

If you could go back to the start of your career and give yourself one piece of advice what would it be?

It is NOT okay to Lose! And, always tell your team about your injuries as they happen so they can tend to them right away, don’t “wait it out”.

For you what has been the highlight and also what has been the lowest point of your career to date?

The highlight is the family I have in this sport.  My manager, Beau Williford, is the father I always dreamed of. He means the world to me and I would not do what I do without him. My fellow boxers are the brothers and sisters I needed to fill the whole in my heart that emerged as I left my other extended family, The United States Marine Corps. I continue to train and travel with our outstanding amateur team and every one of their victories are the sparkle in my eyes. I love when I have been working on something for so long and I keep getting nailed in the gym and fussed at and then the one day when it comes together, I feel like the heavens open and light SHINES UPON THEE….sorry, got a little carried away.hahaha

My lowest point is shared with two experiences. As you may have guessed, looking into the eyes of my team when someone else’s hand was raised at the end of a match was dreadful. For the first time, I saw disappointment in their eyes; not in me but for me. They knew things could have been and maybe should have been different but all the same I knew we would get back on our feet and things would be better. 

The other low point would not be so easily erased or overcame.  A boy we worked with in the gym a few years back was a shining light in our club.  He always made people laugh and was turning into a pretty good boxer.  He went from a chubby little kid to a handsome, physically fit teenager over the years and quickly got into girls and unfortunately, out of boxing.  He was good at other sports and had managed to win a few junior golf tournaments.  He was on his way, his future was bright and he was loved by everyone but he found himself very alone. Beyond that personable teenager was a tortured soul. Earlier this year, my friend and fellow boxer took his life at the age of 16 years old. He left no explanation but that he was alone and unhappy. We all miss him very much and wished he would have come home to us before taking such drastic measures.  This is a pain that runs deep and is tied to my career but his family has joined ours and we have each other to lean on and tell stories about a great kid that once came to our gym.  With these stories and his pictures on the wall, he will forever live on in the Ragin Cajun Boxing Club. God Bless Sammy.

If you could hand pick your next opponent at the venue of your choice, who would it be and where?

“Who” would I hand pick?  Uhh, I’m not sure. My first response that comes to mind would be unrealistic but truthful. My first choice would be my line up in the answer to number 10. HAHAHA Granted, I run like hell but I would surely brag about sharing the ring with the greatest of the sport.  And as for “where”, uhh, that’s easy, at our humble gym of course where most of my bleeding and crying occurs. haha

If you could change one thing about boxing in order to make an improvement what would it be?

I would promote the amateur circuit more, develop a place in the Olympics for women to compete, bring the boxing program back to high schools across the nation then approach the major universities about scholarship programs for boxers.  This, in turn, I believe, would develop some of the best athletes to date.

There are so many stars in female boxing, who do you think stands out as the best?

This is my favorite question because I have had the opportunity to meet and be taught by all on my list but one. They all have shaped and molded my little brain and although I list only particular things for each, they all kind of overlap in their teachings and have stressed each others points on me as well.  So, without further due: 

Deirdre Gogarty - taught me how one becomes a champion…to be continued

Christy Martin - taught me that it is about the show, about the power that can emit from a women’s hands, about what it is to recognize the best in yourself through a great opponent (Martin vs Gogarty)

Sumya Anani - taught me that the last punch of the last round is just as fast and hard as the first punch and the last punch of every round before it.  She told me that she would see me as a champion before she knew it.

Lucia Rijker- taught me that persistence in ones dream through patience and being a lady will pay off if you work hard enough to make it happen.  She told me that it is okay to be tough beast in the ring but it is important to be a very intellectual, well versed, lady beyond the ropes.

Laura Serrano - this is the only one of my top favs that I have not had the opportunity to meet.  She taught me that even though you are blessed with many talents, it is okay to put some on hold to do what your heart tells you.

This is somewhat of an extension to the list but not so much for their activity in the ring but beyond.

Laila Ali - taught me that a fighter has to do what they have to do for themselves to become what they aspire to be.  It doesn’t matter what everyone else says, it is a fighter’s team that makes those decisions and that is what they are there for.  Total trust in their ability to develop a fighter will produce a champion. By not having an amateur career, one has to learn before hundreds as they go, so recognize that there is a BUILDING PROCESS which must be adhered to.

Mia St. John - taught me that a fighter must recognize their goals at the beginning to be able to achieve them.  She wanted to make money doing this and no matter how that came to fruition, she is indeed one of the highest paid fighters in the sport.  She doesn’t really have to fight a “named” fighter nor does she really have to fight more than four to six rounds to get it.

There are many very talented fighters of today’s era as well but I will most likely meet some of them from across the ring at some point so I would rather share my learnings and feelings of admiration after the bout.  Thank you very much. haha.

How would best describe yourself as a boxer?

I would love to fight me….many times.  Others seem to enjoy themselves with me in there too, so I guess I would describe myself as….. entertaining.

Which Boxer has inspired you the most in your career?

She’s a great person, a beautiful boxer, a tough fighter, a true champion of champions, a pioneer of our sport, one of the most humble people I have ever had the pleasure of calling my best friend and mentor:

Dangerous Deirdre Gogarty, voted as Ring magazines most technical female fighter in the world.  I hope to one day, descend from the ring with title in hand and someone say, “Man, that Fighting Marine girl looked just like that little Irish girl who fought on the Tyson Bruno card way back when…..”  Hell Yeah!  That would do it for me.