Kimbrough started boxing at age 12 and has been eyeing greatness ever since he put on the gloves. Although he only stands 5' 6 ½" tall, he hasn't let that or anyone else stand in his way to reaching the top.

Currently Kimbrough is training for the upcoming Titan Games, Feb. 13-15, in which he'll face some of the top boxers in the world. The new challenge excites him and he looks forward to proving he's worthy of all the hype.

Q1: What got you started into boxing?

VERQUAN KIMBROUGH: "I used to wrestle, and what really got me started was a local boxing coach came to one of my wrestling matches to watch someone else. He saw me wrestle and asked me to come down to the gym and give boxing a try."

Q2: Who were some of your boxing idols growing up?

VERQUAN KIMBROUGH: "Sugar Ray Robinson because of his technique of fighting of his back foot, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Oscar De La Hoya because of his personality outside of boxing. He's a nice guy, and he showed that boxers can be classy and not just animals inside the ring."

Q3: You're often compared to both Sugar Ray Leonard and Sugar Ray Robinson how does that make you feel?

VERQUAN KIMBROUGH: "It makes me feel like I'm accomplishing my goals. I want to be on the level that they were on. Those are big shoes to fill though, and I haven't filled those shoes yet. I do take it as a compliment though."

Q4: What goes through your mind when you're preparing for a fight?

VERQUAN KIMBROUGH: "Making sure I'm going to perform the best I can. I'm not really nervous beforehand. I focus on the things that my trainer and I have practiced on. Preparing is really hard though because you aren't able to really watch any tape on the upcoming fighters, especially international fighters. You never know who you're going to fight. The best thing you can do is to train the best way you know how and make sure you're in the top physical condition you can be in because you never know when you're going to have to go that extra mile in a fight."

Q5: What can people expect to see when Verquan Kimbrough steps into the ring?

VERQUAN KIMBROUGH: "I bring a pure boxing style to the ring. I use my jab like the old time fighters. I've got an old time style like Sugar Ray Robinson, Jake LaMota, Jersey Joe Wilcox, and Rocky Marciano. Those guys were the classy times, and they really knew how to fight. Fighters today aren't like that. If they get in there with someone that uses their jab and has a lot of heart, they're stuff just won't last."

Q6: What's your most dangerous punch?

VERQUAN KIMBROUGH: "My right hand. It's a knockout right hand man. I've also been working on my body punch. 2003 is going to be the year; I'm going to have some mouths dropping."

Q7: What are you doing to prepare yourself for the Titan Games and your upcoming competition?

VERQUAN KIMBROUGH: "I know I'm fighting the Cuban champion (Mario Kindelan) that won the Olympic gold, and I've got some film on him that I've been watching. This might be just a regular fight for some people, but for me it's like the Olympics games. We've got a similar style though, but I put on a little more pressure than him. He's really not a pressure fighter. It's going to be low scoring fight, but I think I'll pull it out in the end because of my style. Style makes fights. I'm a comer like Rocky Marciano, and I'm just going to keep coming instead of staying back."

Q8: How do you use something like the Titan Games to prepare for Athens?

VERQUAN KIMBROUGH: "Athens is the goal. This year, 2003, is like I'm fighting for the gold every fight. That's how I prepare, like every fight is for the gold medal."

Q9: What do you do in your downtime away from the ring?

VERQUAN KIMBROUGH: "I talk to kids in schools, visit youth homes, and just trying to be involved my community. Right now, I'm involved in this program called Weed and Seed. Weed and Seed's goal is to make my town (Aquillpa) a better place, to get the drugs out. My neighborhood is kind of a rough neighborhood, so it's really helping to clean up the community."

Q10: What do you think got you away from the rough streets of Aquillpa?

VERQUAN KIMBROUGH: "I had a great coach that always stood behind me. I've got great parents that are behind me too, and unlike most families in Aquillpa I've got both my parents to support me. That really helped."

Q11: Who is the best boxer in all of the Rocky movies?

VERQUAN KIMBROUGH: "Apollo Creed. I gotta go with Apollo."