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5'4" bantamweight Kaliesha
(Kay) "Wild Wild" West
was born on February 11, 1988 in
South Haven, Michigan, USA. Her heritage is
multi-cultural: her father Juan West is of Black, Puerto
Rican
and Seminole Indian descent while her mother Melissa is of Korean
and Mexican
heritage.
She lives in Moreno Valley, California, a small suburb
between
Riverside and Palm Springs. She attended Canyon Springs High
School in Moreno Valley where she was an honors student and ran
cross-country. Her boxing trainer and manager is her
father, who was a US Navy amateur boxing champion and a pro
welterweight from 1994 to 1995. (He left the
competitive sport to support his family better.)
Kaliesha first got excited
about boxing while attending her
father's fights but he was reluctant to involve her in the sport. According
to WBAN correspondent David Avila, Juan West tried to appease
the 10-year-old
Kaliesha by
showing her the proper boxing stance and how to punch then
giving her
monotonous training exercises to discourage her. When she
persisted,
her took her to a gym to fight, and she lost. “I thought that would make her
quit,” Juan West told David Avila, but instead it
made
her more
determined!
Kaliesha went on to become one of the best amateurs
in
California, winning
numerous tournaments and honors including the 2002 and 2003 Junior
Olympic championships and the 2003 and 2004 Silver Gloves and the 2002
125-lb National Golden Gloves championship for ages 13-14. Her
overall amateur record was 98-10
when she turned pro in 2006.
 She
made her pro debut on
February 23, 2006 at San Manuel Indian Casino in San Bernardino,
California, weighting in at 118 lbs and winning a four-round unanimous
(40-35 x 3) decision over Suszannah
Warner. (117¾ lbs). Warner was knocked down in the
second round and fell to 2-3 (1 KO).
As West had only just
turned 18, she had to be sneaked in to the fight arena because there
was a minimum age of 21 to enter the casino.
On March 25, 2006
at Fantasy
Springs Casino in Indio, California, Kaliesha won a four-round
unanimous decision over Tonia Cravens of Albuquerque, New Mexico who
fell to 2-2-1 (1 KO).
On May 19, 2006 at the Quiet
Cannon in Montebello, California, Kaliesha (116¾ lbs) won a four-round
unanimous (40-37,39-37,39-37) decision over Elizabeth Cervantes (5'1",
114 lbs) of Lakeside, California who fell to 1-5 (0 KO's).
Kaliesha
West vs Maria Contreras
©
Copyrighted photo by Jesus Sanchez
On July 8, 2006 at the
Conference Center in Monterey, California, Kaliesha won a six-round
unanimous (60-55,59-55,60-54) decision over Maria Contreras of Houston,
Texas, who fell to 1-5 (0 KO's) and has not fought since.
On November 18, 2006
at the Conference Center in Monterey, California, Kaliesha won a
six-round unanimous (59-55 x 3) decision over former amateur standout
Stella Nijhof of New York
who fell to 1-1-1 (0 KO's) and has not fought as a pro since.
WBAN named Kaliesha its
"Rookie of the Year" for 2006.
 On
March 30, 2007 at Pechanga
Resort and Casino in Temecula, California, Kaliesha (116 lbs)
won another four-round unanimous (40-36 x 3) decision over Elizabeth
Cervantes (114 lbs) who fell to 1-7 (0 KO's).
On August 17, 2007 at Harrah;s
Rincon Casino in Valley Center, California, Kaliesha (116½ lbs) won a
six-round split (58-56,59-55,56-58) decision over British-born Carly
Batey (116½ lbs) of San Diego, California who fell to 3-2-2 (0 KO's).
On March 29, 2008 at Gimnasio
Oscar “Tigre” García in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico,
Kaliesha TKO'd Flor Verdugo of Mexico at 1:43 in the second round of a
scheduled six-rounder.
On June 27, 2008 at the Morongo
Casino Resort and Spa in Cabazon, California, Kaliesha (123½
lbs) won a six-round unanimous (60-54,60-54,59-55) decision over
Elizabeth (Villarreal) Moreno (5'7", 123¼ lbs) of San Antonio, Texas
who fell to 5-7-3 (KO's).
On July 23, 2008 at Morongo
Casino Resort and Spa in Cabazon, California, Kaliesha (123½ lbs) KO'd
Elizabeth Cervantes (124 lbs) of Lakeside, California at 0:55 in the
first round of a scheduled six-rounder. Cervantes fell to 2-9 (1 KO). [Video]
On November 18, 2008 at Table
Mountain Casino in Friant, California, unbeaten Ava Knight (117½ lbs) of Chico,
California won the IFBA
North American Bantamweight title with a hard fought eight-round
unanimous (77-75x3) decision over Kaliesha (117¾
lbs).
According to Mario Ortega Jr of 15Rounds.com, "In a thrilling eight-round bout,
West got off to great start as her speed seemed to bother Knight early.
As the rounds progressed, Knight gained the momentum by landing the
cleaner and harder shots. In the fifth, a knot began to develop on the
left side of Knight’s forehead as the result of a clash of heads.
Action was fast and furious, as neither woman wanted a punch to go
unanswered. Late in the fight, Knight’s clear edge in power seemed to
tilt matters in her favor. Undeterred, West kept coming forward until
the close of a great fight fought at an extremely high level. After an
action-packed eighth round, both fighters received a standing ovation."
Knight improved to 5-0-2
(2 KO's) with the win.
Asked
later how she felt after
losing her first pro bout, Kaliesha was unambiguous, saying "You know what, when I
started boxing I lost my first amateur fight, and I don’t
mean it was a close decision either. I had two eight counts and was
knocked around the ring, after I lost the fight when the ref was
holding both of our arms, I kept asking the girl for a rematch, I was
yelling, “When we going to rematch, I want a rematch!” I have the type
of mentality which it pisses me off when I fail, and it always makes me
come back harder trying to do something different and push myself even
more to come back and win. A lot of people don’t have heart after
losing, and when you lose a fight that is really a test. So when I
fought against Ava, and took my first professional loss, all I was
thinking was when we were going to rematch, I wanted a rematch by the
end of the year. But they wanted bigger things because they realized
how tough of a match it was. I would love a rematch against Knight, but
she lost her last fight, and injured her back, so I don’t even know if
she is going to continue to box. Now I am focusing on a title, I try to
go even higher; if she doesn’t fight again I will fight the girl she
lost to."
 On
August 1, 2009 at Aqua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, California,
Kaliesha (125 lbs) won a
six-round unanimous decision over Rolanda Andrews (124 lbs) of Atlanta,
Georgia who fell to 8-8-1 (4 KO's) and has not fought again. Kaliesha
had moved up to featherweight because of difficulty obtaining opponen ts at bantamweight.
On January 21, 2010 at San
Manuel Indian Casino in Highland, California, Kaliesha (120¾ lbs)
battled to a six-round majority draw with former IBF and WIBA world
bantamweight champion Ada Velez (121½ lbs) of Hollywood,
Florida.
According to a fight
report by David Avila, "West opened fast with
several left hook follow ups that caught Velez flush. A few body shots
added some steam to her attack as the Californian captured the first
round pretty decisively. The second round saw West fight from the
outside and score with some quick right hands from outside and some
loud booming punches to the body. Inside the fighting was even with
Velez finally landing a resounding right hook at the bell. Velez
changed direction in the third round and began to attack the body.
Several double right hooks to the body and head landed flush. During
the middle both fighters worked each others body with West also landing
several double hooks to the body and head. Several clean punches by
West finished off the round. West opened the fourth round by catching
Velez walking into a left hook flush on the jaw. (Velez) took
the blow and walked inside as both traded blows to the body with equal
verve. It was a close round but that left hook by West was the best
punch of the round. Velez had her best round yet as West seemed to slow
down in the fifth round. Working the body and head Velez pressed the
action as West used her jab from the outside to keep Velez at bay. The
Florida based fighter scored most of the punches as she pressed the
action and kept the fight inside. A number of times both fighters
clashed heads with West backing up with a grimace each time they
collided. In the final round Velez opened fast as West tried to keep
her spacing. With some good combinations to the body and head Velez
kept the fight at her pace and distance. West rallied in the middle
with a solid left hook and some combos but with mere seconds remaining
Velez landed just enough to win her the final round. Judge Jerry Cantu
scored it 59-55 for West but judges Marty Denkin and Jose
Cobian had it 57-57 for a majority draw." Velez moved her record to
16-3-3 (6 KO's) with this, her first fight after a 26-month layoff.
On March 26, 2010 at Arena Midt in Kjellerup,
Denmark, Kaliesha (117¾ lbs) fought to a
10-round majority (95-95,95-95,94-96) draw with former WBC,
WBA, WIBA, WIBF and GBU world bantamweight champion Anita Christensen
(116½ lbs) of Randers, Denmark for the vacant World Professional Boxing
Federation bantamweight belt. West moved her pro record to 11-1-2
(2 KOs) while Christensen's went to 24-1-1 (8 KOs).
On June 26, 2010 at the Jockey
Club in Lima, Peru Kaliesha (119¼ lbs) TKO'd Vannessa Guimaraes (5′0½″,
118¾ lbs) of Curitiba, Brazil who fell to 8-3 (7 KO's).
Prior to that fight, Kaliesha
prepared by sparring with Ana
Julaton, telling interviewer Dennis
DSource Guillermo
about their sessions: "They're
real intense.
She's more of a fighter as to my style is a boxer. So we go
hand-in-hand to tactically take one another apart. It's like we're both
learning off one another constantly. Like each round is very intense.
She is a smart fighter as well as I, so she's correcting my mistakes
and I'm correcting her mistakes and it's going back and forth that
we're learning from one another."
 On
September 18, 2010 at the
Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, Kaliesha (118 lbs) won the
vacant WBO Bantamweight title with a TKO over Angel Gladney (5'1", 117
lbs) of South Carolina at 0:59 in the seventh round of a scheduled
ten-rounder. WBAN correspondent Lori Steinhorst wrote
that "Although
the first round started of a bit slow the women picked up the pace by
the second round. Both fighters were a bit cautious at times yet they
were both successful at landing punches that scored. Sometime during
the third round Gladney suffered a cut just over the corner of her left
eye. The cut required 4 sutures. It appeared [to me] that the cut was
caused by an accidental clash of heads, however the referee determined
the cut was sustained from a punch. It
wasn’t until the fourth round that you began to see the kind of action
that would determine this fight. With a roll of the ankle Gladney went
down. Although it was ruled a slip, it was very clear that the ankle
injury was a problem for Gladney. With the decreased movement West was
able to hone in and target Gladney. Although both of them had landed
well with their hooks, it was West’s speed, timing and movement that
allowed her to catch Gladney with a sharp left hook that sent Gladney
to the floor 59 seconds into the 7th round. Gladney was up within a few
seconds but was waved off by the referee. West was crafty and sharp, no
doubt about it. And Gladney had the kind
of power that would have put most any other opponent down. West took
those punches well, but I am sure in the coming days she will have a
pretty good dose of soreness. All in all both of these women fought
well and the crowd, although relatively small, seemed to really enjoy
this fight." Gladney fell to 6-3-2 (5 KO's).
Boxing writer David Avila named West's
knockout of Gladney the "Knockout of the Year" and West the "Fighter of
the Year" for 2010.
On June 18, 2011 at the Sports
Arena in Pico Rivera, California, Ava Knight
(117 lbs) of Chico, California and Kaliesha West (118 lbs) fought
to a 10-round split draw in a rematch for the WBO Bantamweight title.
The scores were: 96-94 West, 96-94 Knight, and 95-95. Mary Ann
Owen told WBAN, "West and Knight were like mirror
images, their fight was an offensive battle. Both fighters used
excellent combinations in a continuous struggle to the end." Knight's record moved to 6-1-3 (3 KO's). [Flash slideshow of fight by Mary Ann Owen] On August 20, 2011 at
Casino Black Pyramid in Manzanillo, Colima, México, Kaliesha West (118 lbs) won a 10-round unanimous
(97-95,99-91,96-94) decision over Jessica Villafranca (118 lbs) of Nicolas Romero, México defending the
WBO Bantamweight title. West wrote on her Facebook page that "The fight was tough. Jessica has a big heart.” Villafranca fell to 12-3 (6 KO's). 
Claudia Lopez vs Kaliesha West in April 2012
Copyrighted photo courtesy Box Latino/Team West
On April 14, 2012 at Gimnasio
Municipal Ernesto Ruffo Appel in Rosarito, Baja
California, México,
Kaliesha West won a hard fought ten round majority (98-92,98-92,95-95)
decision over Claudia Lopez of Argentina defending the WBO Bantamweight
title. The action went back and forth throughout a battle in
which West at first looked off balance and awkward against the sturdy
southpaw. Lopez was busier when the early action got to
close quarters but West found her composure and distance better in
the later rounds and also landed the straighter, harder punches of the
two as Lopez began to tire. Lopez kept coming forward and
gave a good account of herself in a match that was far from
one-sided. “I appreciate Box Latino for giving me an internationally
televised, title defense opportunity,” Kaliesha West said after the fight. “Lopez was a
crafty veteran who was aggressive during the entire fight. Other
boxers avoid her because she is a tough lefty, who has
experience fighting good competition. She was what we expected
and then some.” West improved to 15-1-3 (4 KO's) with the win while Lopez fell
to 18-6 (4 KO's). [Video]
Other Kaliesha West links
To check out fight reports, complete up-to-date boxing records, with
huge digital photos you can go to
the WBAN Records
Member Site
Page
last updated: Monday, 16 April 2012
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