Forrest Dakota Jessica Kleinschmidt interview on title fight

In the Forrest Dakota Jessica Kleinschmidt interview, Dakota said his October 17 Starborne cruiserweight championship fight in Houston will stream on MILLIONS—and predicted the scheduled five-round bout will not go the distance. He also told Kleinschmidt why an opponent’s withdrawal left him with a brief exhibition instead of the fight he wanted, and why he does not need to cut weight this time.

What did Forrest Dakota say about his next fight at Starborne?

Forrest Dakota is scheduled to fight for a cruiserweight championship at Starborne on October 17, with a 200-pound limit and a broadcast on MILLIONS. He expects a five-round fight but predicts it will finish early. More immediately, he is looking forward to facing an opponent who has stayed on the card after several previous plans fell through.

The Baltimore opponent who withdrew

Dakota said his first scheduled opponent withdrew in March 2025 while he was on his second flight to Baltimore. Organizers found a last-minute replacement who weighed about 290 pounds and made the contest an exhibition. Dakota had expected three rounds of a minute and a half each; he said the rounds lasted only one minute.

Further opponents withdrew from fights he had arranged. Dakota attributed some of his frustration to how those promotions handled withdrawals and said he began looking for events with more dependable arrangements, including medical checks and proper referees. He described the Baltimore exhibition as too short to satisfy his goal of having actual fights.

A committed opponent and a title opportunity

Dakota said he and his Starborne opponent have spoken and do not need to manufacture a rivalry. He described the opponent as someone who trains consistently and has brought his weight down from roughly 260 pounds. Unlike Dakota, the opponent needs to reach the 200-pound limit.

The opponent also has amateur-fight experience and, Dakota said, previously got to fight someone his own size on an SCB card. Dakota sees that experience as an advantage for the other man, but he is eager to test himself in a full bout. His own fight is scheduled among the card’s final few contests.

What did Forrest Dakota say about weight cutting for his cruiserweight fight?

Forrest Dakota said he is already under Starborne’s 200-pound cruiserweight limit, so he does not need to cut weight for the October 17 fight. That lets him keep training, eating and hydrating rather than managing a water cut. He contrasted it with the travel and dehydration he endured before his first scheduled fight fell apart.

He normally walks around at 190 to 195 pounds, he said. For the Baltimore event, he needed to get below 180 and was cutting water during the flight when he learned his opponent had withdrawn. This time, he said, he can eat rice and ground beef and stay hydrated while preparing to compete.

Dakota’s physically demanding job also affects how he plans training. He said he can lose about eight pounds after a day of heavy sweating at work without fully replenishing fluids. On days when boxing will leave his clothes soaked, he adjusts the rest of his schedule; he also keeps lifting weights because he wants to remain strong at the 200-pound limit.

How did Forrest Dakota develop his boxing training with Tanner?

Forrest Dakota said he started boxing about two and a half years before the interview and now trains year-round. After beginning at Mayweather Boxing Gym, he moved to a gym with a ring, met his coach Tanner and eventually switched to a dedicated boxing gym. He credits those moves with substantial improvement.

From Mayweather Boxing Gym to a dedicated gym

A friend he knew through work and workouts had an MMA fight that drew Dakota toward combat sports. The friend worked at Mayweather Boxing Gym, where Dakota spent a few months. He had previously pursued weightlifting but said boxing’s constant movement and core engagement felt better for a body that had been troubled by hip and shoulder injuries.

His next gym offered sparring, though he still considered it more fitness-oriented than a dedicated boxing facility. Tanner worked in the ring there, and the two began training together outside the gym as well. Dakota said they moved to a full-time boxing gym roughly five or six months before the interview and had improved markedly since arriving.

Why Dakota and Tanner worked together

Dakota said their connection began as a friendship built on shared interests. He valued Tanner’s willingness to work with someone in creator boxing when other coaches dismissed that scene without first considering how its participants trained. Tanner was also preparing for his first fight on the Starborne card.

For Dakota, consistent training matters more than suddenly getting ready when a bout is announced. He said he and his coach spar regularly, while his immediate concern before October 17 is avoiding an injury. He wants to reach fight night able to let his hands go without holding back.

How does Forrest Dakota plan to handle the Starborne crowd and fight night?

Forrest Dakota expects to enjoy the Starborne crowd before switching his attention to the fight when it is time to box. Tanner’s bout is scheduled near the start of the card, while Dakota expects to fight much later. A longtime friend who now lives in Dallas also plans to travel to Houston to support him.

That friend has known Dakota since they lived on the same street as children. Dakota said he wants to spend the intervening hours with his friend and coach rather than let the wait dictate his mood. He also expects an energetic crowd because the card includes local fighters.

His first exhibition showed him that he can respond to an audience. Dakota recalled putting his hands behind his back after his opponent missed a hook, inviting another attempt before throwing a counter that he said dropped the opponent. Still, the shortened rounds caught him off guard: once he realized each lasted only a minute, he knew he could not spend a round easing into the action.

What did Forrest Dakota say about influencer boxing and his resale business?

Forrest Dakota said creator boxing helped him find a route into fighting, but he wants his training to be judged on its own merits. A former full-time reseller with a YouTube channel, he still runs his resale operation alongside another job and said it makes six figures. He has also become more selective about what he posts before fights.

Promoting a fight without inventing a feud

Dakota said earlier opponents withdrew after he had posted frequent training footage, though he does not know whether the posts affected their decisions. For Starborne, his approach is to share less footage while making sure viewers know when and where to watch. He and his opponent, he said, are both preparing seriously without needing a fake dispute.

He also described hearing false claims about him on Twitter and choosing not to spend his time rebutting them. Dakota connected that attitude to difficult experiences outside boxing, including his parents’ separation when he was young, a long period without seeing his father, the death of a high-school friend and the loss of a dog he had owned for 16 and a half years. Dakota said those experiences shaped a practical view of what he can control:

nobody's gonna save you

Golf clothing, Game Boy games and an online backlash

Dakota built much of his resale business around men’s golf clothing and shoes in the north Scottsdale area. He said learning the brands and logos took years of research and trial and error. Although video-game reselling accounted for a much smaller share of his income, those purchases drew more attention on his YouTube channel.

One video followed an OfferUp deal involving three Game Boy systems and about 20 games, including Pokémon titles. Dakota said the seller first asked for $100, then raised the price to $250 while he was on his way, and asked for more after he arrived. He declined the later increase. A reaction video criticized him as a reseller, which he said exposed him to a side of online attention he had not expected. In person, by contrast, people who recognized him from YouTube at Goodwill or garage sales were friendly.

What surprised Forrest Dakota when he started boxing?

Forrest Dakota said boxing’s conditioning surprised him more than the demands of other sports he had played. Despite a background in competitive basketball and strong cardio by that sport’s standards, he found it difficult to keep moving, hold his stance and use his arms through successive rounds while wearing a mouthguard.

He also said sparring changed how he thinks about size and confidence. In his view, a newcomer can overestimate what strength alone will accomplish, then discover how much skill matters when training begins. With experience, that same person can learn to control the pace with newer partners rather than simply try to overwhelm them.

Dakota sees that progression as one of boxing’s rewards. He believes a sanctioned fight, with gloves and a referee, offers a better setting for people with a dispute than a confrontation outside the ring. For him, continuing through the difficult early sessions has brought gains in confidence as well as fitness.

Who is Forrest Dakota?

Forrest Dakota describes himself as a lifelong athlete who came to boxing after other chapters of life. He characterizes his approach in the ring as boxing with bad intentions.