Kemper Johnson poses with a mural of the late Roy King Jr. It was King who inspired Johnson to get into boxing.

Kemper Johnson poses with a mural of the late Roy King Jr. It was King who inspired Johnson to get into boxing.

Most boxers go up in weight classes as they get more experienced. Kemper Johnson is going the other direction.

The 27-year-old started at 178 pounds for his first fight, dropped to 165 for the 2021 Southeastern Region Golden Gloves and will fight at 156 for this weekend’s tournament in Homewood, Alabama. He plans to go even lower to 147 (welterweight) when he turns professional.

That’s not all that’s unusual about Johnson’s journey. The Johnson City fighter started in the sport just three years ago and hadn’t given career in boxing serious thought before then.

“I never thought I would be a boxer,” he said. “Then I met Roy King and I saw his work ethic, a different lifestyle. He was older when he got started, so he was like, ‘It’s not too late. You can still do it.’ Boxing is a sport that keeps me out of nonsense I could be in and it’s a way to provide for my family in the future. It’s a good release for anybody for mental health.”

Johnson has a busy schedule with a landscaping company and going to barber school. While boxing is viewed as an individual sport, there is a support team of coaches and managers. He also credits his wife for taking care of their family with his two daughters, two stepdaughters and a son they’ve adopted.

“My wife makes a lot of sacrifices for us while I’m training,” he said. “She’s often the one feeding them, getting them ready for bed and then up in the morning.”

While the late Roy King Jr. was his major influence, Johnson declined his advice whenever he was ready for a first fight. Johnson was ready to test his skills, but King saw it as a potential mismatch.

“I wasn’t in shape in all when I started,” he said. “I trained for my first fight in Kentucky and the guy ended up weighing 14 pounds more than me. Roy was telling me not to take the fight, but I had trained for it and I wasn’t scared. I won the fight, but I understood the heavier guys were too long for me, even though I was stronger than them.”

By dropping weight classes, he has negated a lot of his opponents’ reach advantages. Still, it’s an adjustment. The guys aren’t as powerful as the heavier fighters, but they’re usually quicker.

“You see what you have to deal with,” Johnson said. “I feel I didn’t lose any power at all, but I gained quickness by dropping that weight.”

Johnson played football and basketball growing up. Besides training in the boxing gym, he does strength training with former ETSU linebacker Derek Fudge.

There’s an emphasis on being good with both hands. Johnson plays basketball with his left hand, writes with his right hand and fights orthodox. Although he’s got a good straight right hand, he feels his best punch is the left hook.

While he always hopes for a quick knockout, he’s serious about being able to go the distance. That not only entails running and work in the gym. There’s a big emphasis on nutrition as Johnson explained he can’t be the parent to clean the kids’ plates.

“I can’t take those little bites off their plates. I can’t drink their Kool-Aid,” he said. “I have my own separate section in the refrigerator. There’s a lot of discipline that goes into it. I have a name as one of the most disciplined fighters in the area. I want to keep that name and keep working.”

One thing he’s working on is adding more punches, especially with the Golden Gloves tournament. Win, lose or draw, he plans on turning pro once the Golden Gloves are over.

“I need to add more volume especially in amateurs, where it’s a points-based system,” he said. “You’re judged off the number of punches landed. Sometimes, I will hit you with something and then think about my next move.

“If I hurt someone, I will do what they call ‘pose for the picture’ when I should go ahead and end it. I’m confident though. Last year, I made it to the semifinals and I’ve improved so much since then.”

Jeff Birchfield is a sports writer for the Johnson City Press with a lifelong passion for motorsports. The father of two attended ETSU and served in the Tennessee Army National Guard.

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