Kimberly Gittens throws a powerhouse of a punch. The 24-year old is the undefeated lightweight Caribbean boxing champ and she is currently preparing to defend her title at the Caribbean Amateur Boxing Championship in December, which will be hosted by Barbados.
She can swing from being ladylike to a mean lean fighting machine by just a change of clothing.
“I do not know how I do it. I consider boxing as my ying to my yang” she said laughing. “They are two opposites like black and white that I am able to switch very easily,” she said of her boxing headgear and gloves to feminine clothing.
“I feel that if I was a naturally aggressive person, I would not be able to be sensitive and elegant on stage,” she explained, adding that she is also a dancer.
As a woman in a predominately male domain, Gittens has struck a balance between being tough but still maintaining lady-like qualities.
She teaches youngsters who are interested in amateur boxing, that boxing is not a gory contact sport, as it is believed to be. She explained to EASY that she has boxing since 2009.
“I want to use the advantage I have, to teach others that women can box too . . . . All girls can achieve their dreams while embracing their feminine side. Society needs to know that it is okay for females to get in the ring. Look at me, I have no scars and no injuries.”
Gittens, who also models for Crop Over bands PowerX4 and Kontact, said that her first experience in the ring was at Divi Southwinds.
“I remember how I felt when I approached the ring. As I got closer I turned around and said ‘Coach I think I’m in the wrong place, I am not ready for this.’ I got so nervous I did not want to box anymore. I was 17 years old and just finished school at Coleridge and Parry,” she said.
Gittens said she took one look at her opponent and was intimidated, but when she realised she was in the ring and heard the bell, she knew she had to move. A single blow won her the match.
“My opponent was better than me. She had won three fights already and that had me apprehensive. When the fight began however, I noticed that not a lot of much technique was being used and I was a bit confused. She was hitting me in my head and neck, all kind of places that are unusual. But then I hit her once and the match was over,” she said.
The resident of Westbury Road, St Michael, added that her mother Kim Rock, who owns a swimwear design company named Kymoni Creations, gives her full support.
“My mum’s response to me boxing is priceless. She said ‘I do not like it but I will come.’
“Every time she is there in the crowd she feels everything. She shouts ‘Do not hit my daughter. That is my child, you cannot do that.’ But she is my biggest supporter. My dad is a Jehovah Witness so he does not support it at all.”
Known by her friends and loved ones as Kim, the amateur boxer explained how ring fitness differs to regular fitness training.
“You can be as fit as you think you are, running for miles and hard workouts. But then when you go into the ring you would find that you are tired and fatigued. Your senses are also heightened; you have to be quick and think on your feet so it is a different ball game.
“You can do all the hard-core training you want, if you do not do any sparring you would not be up to par in the ring.”
While Kim has to watch her diet (she says it isn’t burdensome), she does admit that while she tries to eat healthy, her self-discipline weakens at times.
“Maintaining my weight was hard but it became a routine. I try to reduce cooking with salt and I do not like fried food or oily things. It makes me feel sick so I do not have to worry about that. I had always liked a lot of tuna and chicken so I would add a lot of veggies to those,” she said.
“I do eat junk when I am ready. I eat bread everyday without fail, but I try not to eat much. So my diet is somewhat kind of clean but I have a weakness for chocolate and pizza, which I eat on my cheat days. Oh my gosh, I love pizza,” she exclaimed.
The lightweight boxer said competition keeps her on her toes, but she plays it by ear as there is no season for the sport.
“Competition season is tricky. Sometimes you only get two weeks notice when a competition pops up that is why you always have to keep training. Trinidad can call today and say they want you to come down and compete.”
Gittens only got into boxing after her friend, Nazinga Howell, pestered her about it in secondary school and to this day she is very grateful. She said she did not aspire to have any particular profession, but knew she was a natural dancer and that was good enough for her.
Before her career in amateur boxing Gittens did not like to play any sports, but now she is enrolled in the Barbados Defence Force Sports Programme. She said she is able to balance dancing (she is a member of two dance groups – Danse Tropicàl and Diamond Dancers) and boxing because she would train in the day and go to dance rehearsals in the evening.
Gittens, whose world ranking in 2013 was 10th, explained some of the intricacies surrounding boxing and points.
Caribbean judges award points based on boxing style, technique and foot work. However, this is not the case with international judges, based on her experience in European competitions.
“They judge you based on where you come from and if you are not a favourite you can never come close to winning a battle,” she said.
“Sometimes you fight your battles on paper before you step in the ring. They look at your presence and dominance in the ring. But even though you may seem to have more control over your opponent you may not be hitting them in the scoring areas. So I think the Caribbean needs to look into this further and try to better understand exactly what those judges are looking for.”
Gittens wants boxing to be a ringside phenom here as it is in Guyana, Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago, and says she sometimes feels unappreciated at home.
“I have been to Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba and Korea. When they see me they know it is Kimberly from Barbados and they ask for autographs and say they cannot wait to see me box and it gives me butterflies. I don’t always promote myself as a boxer in Barbados so maybe that is why people don’t recognise me at home.”
Gittens wanted to compete in the Olympics but sponsorship was not available and she did not make it to the qualifiers in Kazakhstan.
“I felt bad I could not represent Barbados.
But watch out for me. I will be landing some uppercuts to this profession,” she said. (SB)
