Perhaps no Palisadian athlete has inspired his fans more than kickboxing champion Baxter Humby and in several weeks he’ll return to the place where his inspirational journey started.
Known the world over as the “One-Armed Bandit,” Humby was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1972 and he’ll be back there to receive an award for his dedication to combative sports during a professional boxing event, “High Stakes Havoc,” on April 30.
“I’ll be there in person and I’m honored to accept the award,” Humby said.
Humby, who lost his right arm from the elbow down at birth after becoming entangled with the umbilical cord, is the only man in the world to win world titles with just one arm. Although he’s now retired from the ring the former International Muay Thai Council world super welterweight champion still wears many hats. He teaches kickboxing at Gerry Blanck’s Martial Arts Center and the Palisades-Malibu YMCA, he’s an actor, a motivational speaker, an LAPD reserve officer, a husband and a father of two young daughters, Mila and Ally.
Humby enjoys living in America, but his roots are north of the border. He took up running at age 11 and martial arts at 17. He ran for the Canadian national track team in Barcelona in 1992 and in Berlin in 1994 and won the Canadian super welterweight kickboxing championship in 1996.
Humby moved to Southern California in 1997 and has since won numerous kickboxing title belts, including the WBC super welterweight championship in 2010 and the WMC Intercontinental super welterweight championship in 2011 (a first-round knockout that was featured on ESPN Sportscenter’s Top 10 highlights). In 2012 he was nominated for an ESPY Award for Best Male Athlete with a Disability.
Humby always runs in the Palisades-Will Rogers 5/10K when he’s in town for the Fourth of July. He’s also appeared in movies like “A Million Ways to Die in the West” and “Spiderman 3.”
— Steve Galluzzo
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