Despite Rocky Start, He's a Fighter

Thomas Kinchen, 8, is undefeated in the boxing ring. The miracle is not that he can go six rounds, but that he lived past six months.

"The future of amateur boxing," according to one local Lexington promoter, is a sweet-faced third grader named Thomas Kinchen. Nicknamed “Rocky” after undefeated heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano, Thomas was just 5 when he asked his parents if he could learn to box. At 8, he's undefeated in the ring, and promoter Sarg Farris thinks he’s a born natural with all the power he needs to be great.

When asked to describe himself, Rocky replies “I box.” Alex Kinchen says his son wants only three things in life: to be fed, to go to school and to box. Though somewhat skeptical at first, Rocky’s parents support his passion and what his father calls a “laser-like focus.”

In this video profile by the Lexington Herald-Leader (Kentucky.com) we meet Rocky, his dad, and the gym promoter. But the most dramatic aspect of this video is the back story: We learn Rocky was born two months premature with an intestinal syndrome and was not expected to live. Six surgeries later, the worst battle scars are the surgical scars on his belly. Back then the doctors called him a fighter, and it’s a label which seems to have stuck.

Length: 3:02

By David Stephenson and Amy Wilson
Music by Kevin McLeod

VIEW:
http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/2008/12/07/despite-rocky-start-hes-a-fighter/

SEE ALSO:
“Rocky Says it Best: I Box”
http://www.kentucky.com/601/story/619723.html