Other names Cheetah Name Gregory Choplin Reach 74 in (190 cm) | Height 1.84 m (6 ft ⁄2 in) Nationality FrenchIvorian | |
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Weight 75.0 kg (165.3 lb; 11.81 st) Division Super MiddleweightMiddleweight | ||
Grégory "Cheetah" Choplin (born 15 November 1980 in Saint-Denis) is a French-Ivorian Middleweight and Super Middleweight Muay Thai kickboxer.
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Choplin currently fights out of DEREK boxing in Saint-Denis, Paris, France. He is a two-time Muay Thai world champion who has had several title fights within the It's Showtime organization and is widely thought of as one of the top kickboxers in France.
Making of a champion gregory choplin preview
Career
After winning titles at youth and amateur level, Choplin would he would turn professional at the age of 20 and won his first professional title, the French Class A championship, a few years later in 2004. The same year he was selected to represent France at the amateur world Muaythai championships in Bangkok, Thailand, reaching the semi finals and claiming a bronze medal.
Between 2001 and 2006 Choplin would be virtually unbeatable at home, having defeated top domestic talent such as Frank Nadje and Yohan Lidon. In order to seek greater challenges, Gregory started to compete outside France where his growing reputation got him a world title shot against Vincent Vielvoye in 2006. Despite having beating Vielvoye a few months early (albeit with some controversy) Choplin was seen as the underdog in the battle for the W.P.K.L. belt. After four rounds, however, Gregory was the new champion, defeating the home fighter in front of a partisan Dutch crowd via technical knockout.
In 2007, Choplin would sign a professional contract with the It's Showtime organization, becoming the first and (so far) only Frenchman to sign a contract with the Dutch kickboxing giants. Signing with the organization meant Gregory would face the best fighters in Europe on a regular basis. That year he also won a second world title, defeating Jan de Keyzer in Santander to become the W.F.C.A. champion. In 2008 he would participate as a wildcard entry in the bi-annual It's Showtime 75MAX trophy, reaching the final where he lost to Dmitry Shakuta. He was also selected as a contestant for the It's Showtime Reality Show, reaching the semi final stage only to lose to Brazilian Muay Thai supremo Cosmo Alexandre via a devastating knee KO after an extra round in what was an exciting fight.
Gregory bounced back from his recent setups by picking up a number of useful domestic wins against Cédric Muller and Yohan Lidon as well as winning several fights within the It's Showtime organization throughout 2008 and the start of 2009. These results got Choplin a rematch against previous conqueror Dmitry Shakuta for Dmitry's It's Showtime 77MAX title. Choplin was unable to gain revenge for his earlier loss in his failed bid for the title in Budapest, losing a hard five round contest. Throughout 2010 Gregory focused on the domestic scene picking up a good win against top local fighter Moussa Konate. In 2011 Choplin fought in America for the first time, being on the wrong end of an upset when he lost against Ky Hollenbeck - the winner getting a shot at Choplin's old foe Yohan Lidon for the W.B.C. Muaythai world title.
He faced Joe Valtellini at Lion Fight 7 in Las Vegas on October 13, 2012 and won via decision.
Choplin lost to Yodsanklai Fairtex by way of third round KO at Lion Fight 8 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on January 25, 2013.
He bounced back with a points win over Gil Silva at Le Choc des Légendes 2013 in Paris, France on March 9, 2013.
He was scheduled to fight Duochonlek at the WBC World Muay Thai Millennium Championship in Saint-Pierre, Réunion on September 7, 2013 but the card fell through.
He defeated Marco Piqué via UD in the main event of Lion Fight 14 in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on March 28, 2014.
Titles
Professional
Amateur