Boxing
10 Pro Fights By Age 18, Tony Curtis Is A Juvenile Man In A Hurry
ANYONE says youth is wasted on the juvenile never met Tony Curtis. The teenager from south-east London had already lived abroad twice, won two amateur boxing titles, been taken in by a boxing legend, turned pro and fought in three countries – all before he reached his majority.
Curtis, who recently turned 18, has achieved more than many people twice his age but on reaching this milestone he believes it is just the beginning as he is now eligible to apply for a licence with the British Boxing Board of Control.
Few boxers do it when they’re at least 18. Even fewer do it with 10 professional fights under their belt. Curtis believes that gives him a substantial advantage – and he’s already talking about titles. “I’ve got my eye on the vacant WBA world title,” he says. “I’d like to win that title first and then all the others. But at the end of the day, I’ll win all the belts.”
The vacant WBA belt he’s referring to is at strawweight. Curtis last fought at super flyweight and didn’t look like he had an ounce of fat on him, but he believes he can comfortably drop the necessary 10 pounds and is precisely motivated to do so.
“I want to do what [Manny] Pacquiao did that; he went through all the weights. I want to start at the lowest weight and go through them, one by one, winning titles,” he says. “I’m lucky I don’t gain weight. I don’t even diet. So now that I have a dietician, I can go down [to strawweight]. One day I won’t be able to get to that weight, so I want to do it now. And I’ll be a beast at that weight; 10 times stronger, 10 times bigger.”
The evidence from his last fight shows that this is no exaggeration. Even in the super-fly, the 5ft 8in teenager absolutely towered over his Indian opponent, Ismailulah Khan, winning six rounds in the United Arab Emirates, where he has based himself since turning pro and where eight of his 10 pro fights have taken place (9-1, 3 KOs).
He has also boxed in Thailand and Mexico, where his journey began in September 2022, when he was just 16 years and three months ancient and weighing just 99 pounds. His slight build and fresh-faced appearance left many wondering if he was even younger, and whether it was wise to cast him in the ranks of professional boxing — especially in Mexico, of all places.
The naysayers were apparently right when Curtis lost a unanimous decision to Javier Perez Calderon. The Mexican was just 18 and weighed 105 pounds, but two years and 6 pounds can make all the difference at such a juvenile age and weight.
“It was a good experience, to be truthful,” Curtis says. “It was crazy; I had the fans on my side. I was showing off, and after the fight everyone came up to me and wanted to take pictures and copy all my moves.”
Showing off is a recurring theme, and Curtis had envisaged incredible heights for himself, so falling at the first hurdle must have hurt. But it was also a motivator. “I started training 20 times harder,” he says, and the results speak for themselves. Since then, Curtis hasn’t lost a round, let alone a fight, and while his opponents have been journeymen, he’s shown the spectacular skills that got him into the pros in the first place, thanks to one of the most spectacular of them all—Roy Jones Jr.
Curtis tells the story of his substantial break: “We [Tony and family] I went on holiday to Dubai when I was 13 or 14. My dad loved it there and we ended up moving there. I went to a gym called Round 10 in Dubai. One day I heard Roy was at the gym, so I packed up all my stuff and ran over there and just walked up to him and said, “Can I have your number?” He agreed to train me and I turned pro because of Roy. He told me I would be more into pros.”
The plan was to get Curtis out sooner rather than later, with his debut scheduled for a card broadcast by ProBox TV, which Jones co-founded. To prepare for that, Jones invited Curtis to live with him at his Pensacola home—an offer Curtis accepted just a week after his 16th birthday. Spending a few months living and training with one of the all-time greats on either side of his pro debut was a dream come true for the juvenile boxer, and while Curtis has boxed outside the UAE, Jones is still on the team. “Roy is my mentor,” he says. “He’s such a clever guy; I always go to him for advice.”
And what did his family say to all this – Curtis moving in with Jones, then traveling to Mexico and Thailand to fight at 16, then deciding to take punches for pay at an age when most are still learning or taking their first steps in more conventional industries?
“We are a fighting family – me, my dad and my [three] brothers,” he says. “That’s all we do; we’re in the gym all the time and we would never turn down a fight. Dad was always really into it [boxing]but he never did, so he took me to the gym when I was about seven. I was a hyperactive kid, running around everywhere, so it was his way of disciplining me. I didn’t like it at the time, but when I was about ten, I started to like it. I’m not sure why; maybe I was just starting to hit puberty and I didn’t have anything else to do.”
And he still doesn’t.
“I eat, sleep and breathe boxing,” he says. “It’s my life. It’s my job. I don’t have a girlfriend. I never drink. I don’t have time – I’m in the gym eight hours a day, every day. Sometimes more. If I wake up at 3 a.m. and can’t go back to sleep, I’ll go to the gym.”
The gym, which is nearby, is a private one, purpose-built by his father, but Curtis officially fights at Undisputed Boxing in Sittingbourne, under the watchful eye of trainer Billy Rumbol, who also flies in to cover for Curtis abroad. Jones Jr. is still on board, but Curtis needs a full-time trainer closer to home now that he’s back in the UK and intends to compete here.
His manager is Dubai-based Ahmed Seddiqi, and the idea is that Curtis will split his time – and fights – between the UK and the UAE. All he needs is a promoter – and, as befits a boxer with such substantial plans, he’s after the biggest in the country.
“I’d like to go with Eddie” [Hearn]; we talked a little bit,” he says. “I talked to Eddie three fights ago and he said, ‘Win a few more fights and we’ll talk.’ Well, I did that – now he’s got to hold up his end of the bargain.”
The British chapter began last Saturday with an exhibition match at Indigo at The O2 – a strictly non-competitive fight, as he was still three days shy of his 18th birthday, but a chance to perform in front of a crowd of ancient, recent and just plain curious fans. After all, for all his international exploits, he is still a London lad and will be remembered by those who followed his amateur campaign, which he says consisted of “12 or 15” fights and included titles at schoolboy and junior level.
“I wasn’t very popular in the amateurs,” he says. “It was too political and I was inactive. And people always told me I had a professional style. I box more professionally [style] than an amateur. I can take my time and I like the momentum of the game. The amateurs didn’t like my showing off.”
The exposure, showmanship and confidence may simply be a byproduct of his youth, as Curtis is not arrogant or disrespectful. He simply comes across as someone who enjoys what he does. He has also shown that he understands the importance of sacrifice and stepping out of your comfort zone in pursuit of boxing glory, and that there are no shortcuts to achieving it.
Even though he has more time on his side than most, Curtis understands that in any boxing career – even his – time flies.
“I just want to win as many belts as I can,” he says.
“Before I get ancient.”
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