|
Four ropes, trash-talk and
well-trained athletes are things
that boxing and professional
wrestling have in common. But
there is more! “The Nature Boy”
is most famously the nickname of
legendary American pro wrestler
Ric Flair, but it would also
become the ring-moniker of
former WBF World Light
Welterweight Champion Homer
Gibbins.
“Ric
Flair is an icon wrestler here
in the US, and I stole that name
from him”, says Gibbins, who was
born in Atlanta, Georgia in
1970. “I began boxing because of
Wrestling, and I loved the way
Flair would talk smack, so I
thought it was fitting.”
“As
a wild child who loved pro
wrestling I tried to imitate
what I saw on TV, and anyone
entering our house was my next
opponent. My farther worked hard
trying to provide, and just
wanted to rest when he came home
from work. I had been cooped up
with my mum all day, so when my
dad came home inside me was
Wrestle Mania starring ME.”
“Back
in those days one of the
greatest wrestlers was Gorgeous
George, so I would slick back my
hair with Crisco grease or
Vaseline, put on my mum's pink
robe, and prance around the
living room looking for my next
opponent. It was an ordinary
afternoon in 1976 when my pop
came home from working long
hours in the heat, and just
wanted to relax on the floor of
the house and watch some TV.”
“That's
when I saw the opportunity for
me to perfect the Brain Buster,
the newest wrestling move, and I
sailed through the air from the
couch, head butting my poor
overworked pop and almost
knocking him or myself
unconscious at the same time.”
“First
he got very angry, he did make
sure that I wasn't dead or
bleeding before he ran to get my
mum, telling her that tomorrow
I'm going to the gym. He was
going to let me learn about what
real fighting is all about. He
had hoped that I would go in the
gym, get my butt kicked and then
come out not wanting to act like
that anymore.”
But that was not how it turned
out, and the six-year-old Homer
loved boxing and would stick
with it for the next thirty-one
years. He embarked on a
successful amateur campaign that
saw him compile a 226-23 record,
win fifteen Georgia State Golden
Gloves titles, and eventually
set him up for a professional
career.
“I
fought and won the Golden Gloves
state tournament for the
fifteenth time with Evander
Holyfield, the Cruiser weight
champion, sparring that same
night, and his trainer Lou Duva
saw me fight. Lou gave me a card
to call him if I wanted to go to
the training camp.”
“Evander
was a former team mate of mine,
and he decided to manage my
career. He actually got me on a
few of his undercards, and
allowed me to use his name. He
was a good friend, but didn’t
really understand the business
of boxing.”
Gibbins made his paid debut on
August 11, 1990 at the Ceasars
Tahoe in Stateline, Nevada.
Fighting on a show headlined by
legends Pernell Whitaker and
Hector Camacho defending world
titles, and Meldrick Taylor in
his first fight back after his
famous last-second loss to Julio
Cesar Chavez, Gibbins got off to
a rough start.
He was stopped in the third
round by another debutant, Peter
Waswa, but the set-back did not
discourage the then 20-year-old,
who now, twenty-six years later,
puts it like this: “In boxing,
as an amateur you win some and
you lose some. That’s part of
it, but you never stop fighting.
You should learn from a loss,
and I can say that I did.”
Indeed he did, as Gibbins went
on to win twenty-five of his
next twenty-six fights,
twenty-two of them inside the
distance, to set up his first
major opportunity in December of
1992: A crack at the vacant WBF
World Light Welterweight title
against Kenny Vice (29-7), by
far his best opponent at the
time.
“I
was fighting and making a name
for myself, getting seen on
undercards and climbing in the
rankings”, explains Gibbins.
“But I wasn’t really promoted,
so I just fought whenever and
whoever.”
“The
opportunity came to fight Kenny
Vice, who had killed a guy in
the ring in South Africa (Brian
Baronet in 1988), and they chose
me as an opponent. He was a
tough fighter, but like me
didn’t have a promoter so he was
overlooked for many years.”
“I
was young and they felt it could
revitalize his career. But, I
was able to weather his storms
and catch him in the 7th
to win the WBF World title.”
Becoming world champion was one
of the absolute highlights of
Gibbins career, but for various
reasons he was never given the
opportunity to defend the title.
“I wanted to fight any and
everyone, but they (the
promoters) control the if, when,
and who’s you fight in the
sport”, as he puts it.
But he kept winning, and put
together six more victories to
line up a fight with undefeated
fellow contender George Scott
(21-0) from Sweden in February
of 1994 in Atlanta. He lost the
fight by majority decision, but
showed that even without a title
he was still a top player.
Three more victories, including
decisions over Tod Foster (32-2)
and Wayne Boudreaux (20-5),
secured Gibbins another big
fight, against one of the
biggest names in the sport, the
late former WBC and WBO world
champion Hector “Macho” Camacho
(50-3). They fought on May 20,
1995 in Atlantic City.
“Camacho
was a great fighter who I
respected greatly”, said
Gibbins, looking back on the
fight he lost on points. “And
getting the chance to fight and
go the distance with a legend is
very admirable. I was never
expected to get out of the 3rd
round.”
“He
told me I caught him a few
times, and in the 3rd
round he said I snapped his head
back and hurt him. He of course
didn’t show it, and as soon as I
came in he hit me with an
elbow.”
“Main
Events (the promoters) were
setting up Camacho vs. (Pernell)
Whitaker so I was never supposed
to win. Donald Trump said he saw
the fight 4 rounds for me and 4
rounds for Camacho with 4 rounds
up for grabs depending on the
fighting style you liked.”
In his very next outing, four
months later, Gibbins took on
Jake Rodriguez (27-3-2), another
world class opponent, and was
fighting on even terms before
getting stopped in the eighth
round. That would be his last
appearance in almost three
years, and when he came back in
1998 he slowly, but surely,
drifted into a journeyman role.
“I
had been battling a
neck-condition all my life, and
I was forced to retire in 1995
after the Camacho fight and
fighting Jake Rodriguez exposed
it. But because I lied to
doctors, I regained a license to
fight again in 1998. I still was
not promoted and had to take
what was given, when it was
given. I always felt if you gave
me time to train I could beat
anyone.”
“I
always had numbness in my legs
from my neck-condition, and most
doctors would tell you that I
should have never fought. I
would go into a guy’s hometown
and beat him only to watch the
judges steal my victory. Or I
would know that my body was
failing me.”
“I
entered the ring knowing I could
only be 50% and that was with me
giving it my all. As I got older
I began to have fear because I
had children that depended on
daddy, and I wanted to be there
for them as they got older. I
did fight and win another title
from a fighter who was similar
in age, and then didn’t even get
my title until I took them to
court.”
Gibbins lost nine of his last
eleven fights. That “fighter who
was similar in age” he mentions,
was Chad Broussard (54-4), whom
Gibbins beat by knockout in June
of 2006, after losing their
first fight by decision four
months prior. He lost the rubber
match by split decision in
October 2007, and it turned out
to be his final fight.
Between 1990 and 2007, he
compiled a final professional
record of 44-16, with 31
knockouts. Up until 2002 he was
42-5 (30), and its fair to say
that the last five years was not
the real “Nature Boy” in action.
“I
have a lot of children who need
their daddy to be there for
them, and I was tired of
fighting the fighters, referees,
and the judges”, Gibbins
explains about his decision to
finally retire. “I love being a
dad, so when I walked away I
walked away completely from the
sport.”
Regrets? Homer Gibbins
have none. He seems happy
and proud of what he has
accomplished, and says Hector
Camacho, Matt Vanda and Tod
Foster were the best opponents
he faced. He has just begun
passing on the knowledge he
acquired in the sport, because
“to be immortal in this life you
have to pass along what you know
to someone else.”
“Regrets
would change the past, so you
just move forward. At least
that’s what I do. I would have
liked to have fought Arturo
Gatti (a fight that was actually
planned), but they paid me to
back out because I just beat a
guy with one hand, as I broke
the other in the 3rd
round.”
“Gatti
was scheduled to fight Oscar De
La Hoya for a million Dollars,
and they paid me to get out of
their way. I had trained with
him and boxed circles around
him. It all comes down to not
being promoted, but I did all
that I could with what I had.”
Married to Amy for fourteen
years, Gibbins (46) is a father
of seven (!) children, five
girls and two boys, and now
works as both a drama teacher
and a building manager. Being a
very creative man, he has acted
and is a published poet, and, in
his own words, he is an
exceptional artist.
In his spare-time he also works
with youth, teaching drama, at
Oakhill Baptist Church in
Griffin, Georgia (S.W.A.T.:
Students Worship & Arts Team),
something he enjoys and has done
along with wife Amy since 1996.
“As
a child, I was a poet with a
love of the dramatic, and a very
talented artist, who happens to
be a bit color blind. I guess
you can say that God blessed me
with good hands. God has always
gifted me with an ability, and
kind of a handicap as well to
keep me humbled.”
|
