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Meet the 10-year Old Fighter Whose Name You Might Hear Again Soon

Scott Morgan
/
South Carolina Public Radio

If you’re the type who likes to say you knew someone back in the day, you might want to remember the name Kamron Venable.

At 10, Kamron already has chins wagging about what kind of name he could make for himself as a pro boxer. He’s one of those kids that even seasoned adults know has that elusive quality called “it,” even if they don’t know how or why he has it.

Alonzo Lumpkin, director of and head coach at the Rock Hill Boxing Club, will tell you Kamron has heart and discipline and an unyielding need to get better.

Talk to Kamron himself and he’ll tell you about how he figured out a kid he was matched against. He’ll praise how much his father, Zachary, pushes him in his training, because if he didn’t, “what am I going to do? Not work hard?”

Talk to Zachary and he’ll say “there’s no give-up” in his son. He couldn’t be more proud and he’s sure Kamron will be something great, even if he eventually decides against boxing.

“He’ll make it in something,” he says.

For now, boxing is a safe bet. And Kamron wants to be at the top.

“I want to be a world champion one day,” he says. “Some day.”

He has about 10 years before he can be in contention for a thing like that. Which seems to be giving him plenty of time to go for it.

Listen to Kamron fill you in, in his own words. Just watch out for the right hook.

This story is one of two looking into the Rock Hill Boxing Club. Listen to the other one here.

Scott Morgan is the Upstate multimedia reporter for South Carolina Public Radio, based in Rock Hill. He cut his teeth as a newspaper reporter and editor in New Jersey before finding a home in public radio in Texas. Scott joined South Carolina Public Radio in March of 2019. His work has appeared in numerous national and regional publications as well as on NPR and MSNBC. He's won numerous state, regional, and national awards for his work including a national Edward R. Murrow.