Fredia "The Cheetah" Gibbs (born July 8, 1963), is an American professional

kickboxer Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid martial art and boxing type based on punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouth guards, shorts, and ...

and

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, Martial artist and European basketball player who competed from 1975 to 2005. During her kickboxing career, she held three world titles

ISKA The ISKA (originally International Sport Karate Association, later also called the International Sport Kickboxing Association) is international bodies regulating sport karate and kickboxing matches. It is based in the United States. It was est ...

, WKA, and WKF in two different divisions. Before embarking on her kickboxing career she was an All-American in basketball and track and Field She became the first African-American female

Undefeated World Kickboxing Champion. In 1994, she gained widespread recognition after an upset victory over World Champion

Valérie Wiet-Henin Valerie is generally a feminine given name, derived directly from the French ''Valérie'' (a traditionally female name). Valéry or Valery is a masculine given name in parts of Europe (particularly in France and Russia), as well as a common surna ...

of France at the "Battle of the Masters" Pay-Per-View event in San Jose, California. Gibbs went on to become one of the most dominant champions in the sport, leaving an indelible legacy in the light and super-lightweight kickboxing divisions. She competed from 1991 to 1997, amassing a record of 16 wins, 0 losses, and 15 KOs, and three world titles. Additionally, Gibbs competed as a top contender in women's professional boxing from 1997 to 2005 with a record of 9 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw.

Early years

Fredia Gibbs was born in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...

. She was given the nickname "The Cheetah" at school due to her performance in track. Chester High School named their track team "Chester's Cheetahs" after Gibbs. After high school, Gibbs attended

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

where she was the recipient of two athletic scholarships in basketball and track. She attended

Cabrini University Cabrini University was a private Catholic university in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1957, and was named after the first American naturalized citizen saint, Mother Franc ...

on a basketball scholarship, and majored in marketing. She was invited to the

United States Olympic Training Center The United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Centers (OPTCs) are two campuses created by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) as training facilities for its Olympic and Paralympic athletes. They are located in Colorado Spr ...

in Colorado Springs to try out for the women's

United States women's national basketball team The USA Basketball Women's National Team, commonly known as Team USA, is governed by USA Basketball and competes in FIBA Americas. The team is by far the most successful in international women's basketball, having won 10 out of the 12 Olympic to ...

but was cut during the second tryouts. Gibbs was selected Kodak All American for three consecutive years for basketball at Cabrini University. She later went on to play professional basketball in Germany, averaging almost 28 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists a season.

Martial arts career

Gibbs began her instruction in

Jeet Kune Do Jeet Kune Do (/ˌdʒiːt kuːn ˈdoʊ/; zh, c=截拳道, l=stop fist way' or 'way of the intercepting fist, j=zit6 kyun4 dou6; abbreviated JKD) is a hybrid martial art conceived and practiced by martial artist Bruce Lee. It was formed from ...

Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art which is split into many different styles including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai, and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practic ...

fight style at Quiet Storm Martial Arts School in Chester, Pennsylvania. She was urged to learn martial arts by her uncle to rebuild her self confidence and self esteem, which suffered as a result of being bullied. She was trained by her uncle, part of a group of lethal martial artists including lawyers, judges, doctors, business leaders, and blue collar workers. Every Saturday, Fredia would spar with her uncle in a locked room. Her uncle would tell her to get a key that he placed behind him. Once she managed to obtain the key, her uncle awarded her a black belt. She continued to train and compete under Quiet Storm throughout high school and college, and she won three world championships in

Tae Kwon Do Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In a ...

by the time she graduated from Cabrini, with the last World Championship won in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, Florida, against an undefeated champion from Puerto Rico. Throughout these years, she competed and became a World Champion in martial arts while simultaneously excelling as an All-American in basketball and track.

Professional basketball career

From age 12 until 1990, Fredia Gibbs competed in basketball, earning a reputation for transforming struggling programs into champions. At Chester High School, she played a pivotal role in turning a winless team into a division champion, district champion, and state semi-finalist. She earned All-County, All-State, and All-American honors while averaging 28 points, 5 rebounds, and 10 assists in her senior year. Gibbs remains Chester High School’s all-time leading scorer with 1,706 points. In 1981, she received a basketball and track scholarship to Temple University but lost it after one season due to academic withdrawal. She later attended Cabrini University on a basketball scholarship, where she revitalized the women’s basketball program. To this day, Gibbs holds the title of Cabrini’s all-time leading scorer with 2,395 points, 901 rebounds, 680 assists and 318 steals points. Gibbs received All-American Honorable mention following the 1986 season then closed her career as the only player in Cabrini history to be named a Kodak All-American in 1987. After leaving Cabrini, in 1988 she took her talents overseas for two year playing professional basketball in the European Women’s Professional Basketball League for Etzella in Luxembourg. She led the team to its first European Cup, dominating the court with averages of 28 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists per game leading the team in scoring and rebounding.

Professional kickboxing career

In 1990, after moving to

North Hollywood, California North Hollywood is a neighborhood and district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, El Portal Theater, several art galleries, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Th ...

, Gibbs took up kickboxing at the

Benny Urquidez Benny Urquidez (born June 20, 1952) is an American former professional kickboxer, martial arts choreographer and actor. Nicknamed "The Jet", Urquidez was a non-contact karate competitor who later pioneered full-contact fighting in the United St ...

's The Jet Kickboxing Training Center under the instruction of Lilly Rodriguez Urquidez, Rubin Urquidez and David Krapes. She later studied

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

Kickboxing under the guidance of Sur Puk & Saekson Janjira of the Muay Thai Academy of America in North Hollywood. Her Muay Thai publicist was William Peele. Prior to this she had studied martial arts ( Tae Kwon do/ Jeet kwon do/ Aikido ) at Quiet Storm Martial arts school under the instruction of her uncle Master William Groce, Master Rick Berry, and Master Brown, in Chester Pennsylvania. She amassed an impressive kickboxing record of 16-0-1 with 15 KOs. Her only draw came from an exhibition fight with a male opponent. In April 14, 1994, she defeated the "Most Dangerous Woman in the World, from Paris , France

Valerie Henin Valerie may refer to: People *Saint Valerie (disambiguation) *Valerie (given name), feminine Songs * Valerie (Steve Winwood song), 1982, from ''Talking Back to the Night'' * Valerie (Zutons song), 2006, with Amy Winehouse, from ''Tired of Hangin ...

in "The Battle of the Masters" Pay-Per-View event, capturing the

World Championship. This victory made Gibbs the first African American female to hold the world kickboxing championship for the

International Sport Karate Association The ISKA (originally International Sport Karate Association, later also called the International Sport Kickboxing Association) is international bodies regulating sport karate and kickboxing matches. It is based in the United States. It was es ...

Professional boxing career

In 1997, Gibbs started boxing professionally. Her record was 9-2-1 (2 KO). She made her boxing debut January 23, 1997, in a four-round decision over Maria Fortaleza Recinos. Due to unfortunate scheduling, Gibbs entered the title fight against

Leah Mellinger Leah () appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) wife Rachel. She is the mother of Jacob's first son Reuben. She has three ...

during the time she was filming the movie ''Knockout''. The intense film schedule combined with the cross-country flight from Los Angeles to Atlantic City, New Jersey, was less than ideal, and Gibbs suffered her first loss. Gibbs said the loss to Mellinger inspired her to intensify her training to resume her journey to the top. On January 15, 1999, Gibbs handed

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

hometown favorite Hannah Fox her first loss in a six-round unanimous decision, shown live on ESPN2. On November 16, 2001, Gibbs fought a highly anticipated WIBA world title fight against Sumya Anani, who had defeated former champion Christy Martin. Gibbs and Anani fought an exciting ten-round majority draw, which left the 140-lb WIBA World Title vacant. The Gibbs-Anani rematch occurred April 28, 2003, and Gibbs was unable to answer the bell for the second round with an injury to her right hand, yielding the victory to Anani. Disappointed in the outcome, Gibbs explained "I came in ready to win this fight, but Sumya is a strong fighter and I was not prepared to fight her with only my left hand." Following the fight, Gibbs announced her retirement from boxing.

Acting and modelling

Gibbs has also worked as an actress and a sports model for Sebastian International Sports Department. She has been featured in '' Black Achievers'', '' Black Belt'', ''

Delco Times The ''Delaware County Daily Times'' is a daily newspaper founded 1876. It is the only major newspaper in the state to be branded with a county name rather than a city. It is known for its colorful "Sound Off" feature and allowing voices from the ...

'', '' Inside Karate'', '' Jet'', ''

Los Angeles Sentinel The ''Los Angeles Sentinel'' is a weekly African-American owned newspaper published in Los Angeles, California. The paper boasted of reaching 125,000 readers , making it one of the oldest, largest and most influential African-American newspaper ...

'', ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'', ''

Sports Illustrated for Women ''Sports Illustrated Women'' (previously called ''Sports Illustrated for Women'') and also known as ''SI Women'', was a bimonthly sports magazine covering (according to its statement of purpose) "the sports that women play and what they want to fo ...

'', and ''

Upscale Magazine Upscale may refer to: * Image scaling * Luxury good * Video scaler A video scaler is a system that converts video signals from one display resolution to another; typically, scalers are used to convert a signal from a lower resolution (such as ...

''. In 2000, Gibbs played the villain Tanya "Terminator" Tessario in the film ''

Knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

''. In 1996, she had a cameo in an episode of "

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz that aired on NBC from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...

Today

Beyond fighting, she is also a motivational speaker, a published author, using her voice and experience to inspires others. She is also an advocate for women in sports & self defense. Her documentary, The Fredia Gibbs Story: The Most Dangerous Woman in the World, is available on Youtube, highlighting her journey from Chester, Pennsylvania, to becoming a global combat sports icon. Her iconic kickboxing fight gear is proudly displayed at the Sports Legend of Delaware County Museum, in Radnor, PA.-a museum dedicated to preserving the rich history of Pennsylvania's and Philadelphia's greatest sports legends. This tribute honors her groundbreaking achievements and lasting impact on combat sports. In addition, she's celebrity trainer, radio host & philanthropist. February 5, 2022 she was honored and participated in the Orange County Heritage Black History Parade "The Female Athletic Division Marshal" and was nominated to attend the United State of Women summit hosted by the White House. In 2016 Gibbs was named one of the Top Ten Greatest African American Female Athletes of All time for Kickboxing.Kickboxing champ Gibbs honored at museum event
/ref> A six foot bronze statue of Fredia Gibbs was erected in September 2022, honoring her achievements and symbolizing her strength, resilience, and legacy as an inspiration for future generations.

Championships and accomplishments

* 1986–1988 3-time World Tae Kwon Do Champion * 1994–2001 ISKA World Kickboxing Champion (2 defenses) * 1995–1999 WKA World Kickboxing Champion (2 defenses) * 1996–2000 WCK World Kickboxing Champion (2 defenses) * 2015–2016 Featured in Orange County Black History Heritage Parade * 2015 Hall of Fame Inductee for Basketball at Chester High School * 2016 AOCA Awakening Outstanding Contribution Award * 2016 Hall of Fame Inductee for Track & Field at Chester High School * 2016 Inducted into Mickey Vernon Sports Legend Museum–Delaware County Black History * 2016 Selected as the Greatest African American Female Athlete of All Time for Kickboxing * 2017 Her ISKA World Championship Belt was Inducted into the Sports Legends Of Delaware County Museum in Radnor, Pa September 17, 2017 * 2018 Honored as one of the greatest female athletes in Philadelphia history, held at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa on August 18, 2018 * 2018 Given the Key to the City of her hometown, Chester, Pennsylvania by the Mayor and City of Council, on July 11, 2018 * 2022 Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame Inductee

Kickboxing record

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Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

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Yvonne Trevino Yvonne Trevino (born 18 January 1967) is a kickboxing and boxing champion from Peoria, Arizona, United States. She was inducted into the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame in 2023. Career On April 20, 1995, at the Aladdin Casino in La ...

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Valérie Hénin Valérie Hénin is a French people, French boxer, kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter. She is a former ISKA World Kickboxing champion and the former Women's International Boxing Federation, WIBF Welterweight boxing champion. Boxing On Valerie Henin ...

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San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

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Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...

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San Bernardino, California San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

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Professional boxing record

References

External links

Official site

Meet Ten of the Greatest Black American Female Athletes of All Time

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, Fredia 1963 births Living people African-American boxers American female kickboxers Lightweight kickboxers American female taekwondo practitioners American female Muay Thai practitioners American women boxers Boxers from Pennsylvania Chester High School alumni Kickboxers from Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Chester, Pennsylvania 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen