Palisadian kickboxer Baxter Humby continued his rise to the top of his sport by winning a unanimous decision over Canadian champion Alex Ricci (30-8) to capture the International Muay Thai Council superwelterweight championship September 11 at the Plaza Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. In front of a capacity crowd of 1,500, Humby won four of five rounds to earn the 154-pound belt’his 13th title belt. Known as the ‘One-Armed Bandit’ because he was born without most of his right arm, Humby has overcome his handicap to enjoy success both in and out of the ring. He landed the starring role in a movie called ‘The Champion’ (based loosely on his life story), which was released in Asia in August, and he currently wears five world title belts: the IMTC middleweight and welterweight, WMTF middleweight, DRAKA International weltwerweight and IKKC Intercontinental welterweight. ‘I was satisfied with this fight because I felt I was able to sidestep him and counter with kicks,’ Humby said of his recent victory. ‘He is a tough guy who has fought a lot in Thailand. When we were clinching I could feel he was really strong. But I landed some solid shots and I definitely shook him a few times.’ Humby has a professional record of 16-3 with six knockouts. His sole focus now is a return bout with England’s Peter Cook, who dealt Humby his only knockout loss in their first fight two years ago. Humby stays active and plans on defending at least one of his titles in January. The 31-year-old Palisadian is also involved in the community. Humby trains six days a week and teaches kickboxing classes at both Gerry Blanck’s Martial Arts Center and the Palisades-Malibu YMCA. He was second in his age group last year in the Palisades-Will Rogers 5K, finishing in 17:33.
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