8CN Exclusive Interview with Ahsandi Gibbs

Saint Petersburg, Florida is known to most people as a large tourist town in the middle of Tampa Bay. What most people don’t know is that the town commonly referred to as St. Pete has produced elite boxers such as Daniel Santos, Winky Wright and Jeff Lacy. One fighter looking to add his name to the list of great fighters to come from St. Pete is middleweight Ahsandi Gibbs. Gibbs, who holds a record of 10-1, will look to continue his move up the rankings with a 6 round fight Friday Night at the Ala Carte Pavilion in Tampa, FL. Gibbs sat down with 8 Count News to discuss his upcoming fight.


8CN: Welcome to 8 Count News Ahsandi. How are you doing?

Gibbs: Thank you for having me. I am doing great and ready for fight night.

8CN: How is training camp coming along?

Gibbs: Training is going very well. I feel really strong both mentally and physically. I really want to fight today. I’ve been grinding away at 4th St. Boxing Club here in St. Pete.

8CN: You have a good test in front of you Friday night in Ibahiem King. What do you know about him?

Gibbs: I don’t know too much about him. I know he is a southpaw and has a record of 6-1. I expect him to box and try to stay away from me. I would love him to fight my fight. He is going in there to box and I want to knock him out.

8CN: In your last fight, you suffered your first career loss against a very good and underrated Marcus Upshaw. What did you learn from that fight and how have you regrouped?

Gibbs: I learned not to get so close to my opponent when I am on the inside. I have to throw certain punches at the right angles when I am inside. I needed to work on my head movement. To get back in, I just had to train harder and pick up on my mistakes, learn what I did wrong and fix them.

8CN: You have one of my favorite nicknames in boxing; Mr. Brixx, how did you get that nickname?

Gibbs: When I was looking for a nickname, I was asking around what would fit and I’ve been told when I hit guys, it feels like I have a brick in my glove. So that is how I got the nickname Mr. Brixx.

8CN: Can you tell us a little bit about your background in boxing?

Gibbs: I started boxing about thirteen years ago. I have been boxing on and off most of my life. I officially went to a gym when I was thirteen and I kind of got away from the sport for a while and got caught up in some street things. When I was about 23-24, I decided I wanted to go back to the gym and do this as a profession and a career. I had about twenty amateur fights before I turned pro about four years ago.

8CN: What led you to the boxing gym for the first time?

Gibbs: My younger brother came home with a black eye one day and his father said we need to learn how to fight and defend ourselves. I was always fighting and getting picked on. I was smaller than everyone else and being from New York, I had a funny accent compared to everyone else. I got kicked out of a couple schools just because I was getting picked on. I was always a natural fighter anyway and it was always something I did. I don’t like confrontation but I will fight if I have to.

8CN: Is there any advice you would give up coming fighters?

Gibbs: Just work hard, and don’t let anyone tell you what you can not do.

8CN: Do you have anything lined up after this fight?

Gibbs: I don’t have anything planned after this fight, but anything can pop up any second. There have been times where I have been asked to fight right after I had just got out of the ring. But I don’t have anything scheduled right now.

8CN: Any final comments Ahsandi?

Gibbs: Come see Mr. Brixx Friday night. You will enjoy the show and you will be impressed. Come see me. Come see me. Come see me.