Gridiron to gloves
Humphrey’s true passion is golden
Clinton High School senior Donovan “Donnie” Humphrey recently won the 2025 National Junior and Youth Novice Championship (ages 17-18, Novice) at the Golden Gloves tournament in East Ridge.
But football wasn’t his true athletic passion.
“I played football during my freshman, sophomore and junior years at Clinton,” said Humphrey, who is set to graduate in December. “When I was younger, my dad was always teaching me things, and I always wanted to box. But I could never get to the gym — and when I finally had the chance, we moved.”
Now, Humphrey commutes 35 minutes to Knoxville to train at the Ace Miller Golden Gloves Arena.
His instructor is Judge Hill, a legendary trainer who once served as a corner man for former heavyweight champion Big John Tate, a Knoxville native.
“Clinton isn’t exactly known for boxing,” Humphrey said. “Usually, if somebody makes it, it’s in football, basketball or wrestling.”
It was during his junior year that Humphrey decided to give boxing a real shot.
“My dad asked if I still wanted to box; he told me I could, but I had to finish football season first,” Humphrey said.
When the season ended, he turned his attention to the ring.
“I started working in the gym, and boxing became my passion,” he said. “I’ve grown to love the sport more and more each day.”
Although critics often paint boxing as excessively violent, Humphrey sees a different side.
“It’s not the violent sport everybody thinks it is,” he said. “There’s an art and a strategy to it. People who don’t understand it think it’s just two guys beating each other up, but there’s a strategy. You have to know where to see the punch and where to place it.”
Like many sports, boxing offers valuable life lessons.
“In boxing, you’re by yourself; it’s an individual sport,” Humphrey said. “You have to be disciplined and in control, because you’re one punch away from having the rest of your life changed.
“That’s where the life lesson comes in,” he said. “People talk about lucky punches, but I don’t believe in lucky punches. We’re all trained the same way. If you’re not in control, the other guy will be — and you’ll get beat.”
Discipline is essential in boxing, especially when it comes to making weight, he said.
Humphrey currently competes as a heavyweight, but he plans to move to light heavyweight, a shift that will require him to lose more than 10 pounds.
“That’s the hard part,” he said. “Anybody can fight at their weight, but to be successful, you have to lose weight or gain weight — and that’s hard.”
Wins and losses are part of the journey, but for Humphrey, success starts with faith.
“In anything you do, you have to give glory to God,” he said. “When you lose, you keep it to yourself. But when you win, you give all the glory to God.
“If you do that, God will reward you more.”
