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

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

, 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 ...

who competed from 1975 to 2005. During her kickboxing career, she held

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

, WKA, and WKF World Titles. Before her kickboxing career she was an All-American in basketball and track. Gibbs made history when she became the first African-American female Kickboxing

World Champion. She earned the name "The Most Dangerous Woman in the World" after an upset in 1994 in her fight against World Champion Valérie Wiet-Henin of France in the "Battle of the Masters" Pay Per View Event in San Jose, California. She went on to become one of the most dominant champions of all time, and remains a significant historical figure in 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. She also 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. She wrote ''The Fredia Gibbs Story'' about her life in 2016.

Early years

Fredia Gibbs was born in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

. 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 state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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

Cabrini University Cabrini University is a private Roman 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 ...

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 Sprin ...

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 the United States women's national basketball team, is governed by USA Basketball and competes in FIBA Americas. The team is by far the most successful in international women's basketbal ...

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 30 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists a season.

Karate career

Gibbs began her instruction in

Jeet Kune Do Jeet Kune Do is a primarily wing chun kung fu inspired eclectic martial arts philosophy heavily influenced and adapted by the Taoist personal life philosophy and experiences of martial artist Bruce Lee. Overview and philosophy Jeet Kune ...

Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that 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 practiced in around 1 ...

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, 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'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

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

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, 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.First African-American Woman to Become a Kickboxing Champion Returns Home to Chester
/ref>

Basketball career

From the age of 12 until 1988, Gibbs competed in basketball. She was credited with turning a winless program at Chester High School into a Division Champion, District Champion, and State Semi-finalist while earning All-County, All-State, and All-American honors. She averaged 28 points, 5 rebounds, and 10 assists in her senior year. In 1981, she received dual scholarships in basketball and track to Temple University. After competing at Temple for one season, she lost her scholarship in 1982 due to academics and withdrew. After completing her collegiate basketball career at Cabrini, Gibbs was hired to play professional basketball for Team Etzella in Luxembourg in the European Women's Professional Basketball League. She led Etzella to its first European Cup while leading the team in scoring and rebounding.

Muay Thai kickboxing career

In 1990, after moving to

North Hollywood, California North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North H ...

, Gibbs took up kickboxing at the

Benny Urquidez Benny Urquidez (born June 20, 1952) is an American 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 States. He made the tra ...

's The Jet Kickboxing Training Center under the instruction of Rubin Urquidez and David Krapes. After that she studied

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

Kickboxing under the instruction of Bangkok, Thailand Sur Puk & Saekson Janjira of the Muay Thai Academy of America in North Hollywood. Her Muay Thai manager was Felice Levair. She had studied martial arts at Quiet Storm under the instruction of Master Rick Berry, Mr. Brown and her uncle William Groce in Chester, Pennsylvania. She amassed a kickboxing record of 16-0-1 with 15 KOs. Her only draw came from an exhibition fight with a male opponent. She beat the Most Dangerous Woman in the World from France Valerie Henin in "The Battle of the Masters" PPV show to win the

World Championship in April 1994; this 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 one of the major international bodies regulating sport karate and kickboxing matches, and is based in the Unite ...

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 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 (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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 published in the Primos section of Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is the only major newspaper in the state to be branded with a county name rather than a city. I ...

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

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

'', ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'', ''

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''. 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, a ...

''. 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 for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart t ...

Today

Her fight gear is displayed at the Sports Legend of Delaware County Museum, dedicated to preserving the history and memory of Delaware County Sports Legends. She is an author, celebrity trainer, philanthropist, motivational speaker, and radio host. In 2016–2017 she was honored and participated in the Orange County Heritage Black History Parade 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>

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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Yvonne Trevino Yvonne Trevino (born 18 January 1967), is an Arizona Native and former Women's kickboxing and boxing champion from Peoria, Arizona, United States. Background Trevino was popular among boxing and kickboxing fans during the 1990s, especially ...

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Valérie Hénin Valérie Hénin French boxer, kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter. She is a former ISKA World Kickboxing champion and the former WIBF Welterweight boxing champion. Boxing On Valerie Henin boxing debut she fought Mary Ann Almager in order to become ...

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San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and 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 cen ...

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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 African-American sportswomen American female kickboxers Lightweight kickboxers American female taekwondo practitioners American Muay Thai practitioners American women boxers Boxers from Pennsylvania Chester High School alumni Kickboxers from Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Chester, Pennsylvania 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people