By Oliver Fennell
WHOEVER says his youth was wasted as a young man who never met Tony Curtis. The teenager from south-east London lived abroad twice, won two amateur boxing titles, was scouted by a legend of the sport, became a professional boxer and fought in three countries – all before he was a legal adult.
Curtis, who has just turned 18, has already achieved more than many people twice his age, but in reaching this milestone he believes he is only just getting started – as he can now apply for a licence with the British Boxing Board of Control.
Few fighters do that at the age of 18. Fewer still do it with 10 professional fights under their belts. Curtis believes that gives him a head start – and he’s already talking about titles. “I’m eyeing the vacant WBA world title,” he says. “I want to win that first, then everything else. But at the end of the day, I’m going to win them all.”
The vacant WBA belt he’s referring to is at strawweight. Curtis last fought at super flyweight and doesn’t appear to have any excess body fat, but he believes he can comfortably lose the 10 pounds needed and has the right motivation to do so.
“What do I want to do? [Manny] Pacquiao did; went through all the weights. I wanted to start at the lowest weight and go up one by one, win the title,” he said. “I was lucky because I didn’t gain weight. I didn’t even diet. So now that I have a nutritionist, I can lose weight [to strawweight]. One day, I won’t be able to do that weight, so I want to do it now. And I’m going to be a monster at that weight; 10 times stronger, 10 times bigger.”
The evidence from his last fight suggests that was no exaggeration. Even at super-flying level, the 5ft 8ins teenager completely outclassed his Indian opponent, Ismailulah Khan, as he cruised to a six-round victory in the United Arab Emirates, where he has settled since turning pro and where eight of his 10 professional fights (9-1, 3 KOs) have taken place.
He has also boxed in Thailand and Mexico, where his journey began in September 2022, when he was just 16 years and three months old, weighing a combined 99 pounds. His diminutive stature and fresh-faced appearance have led many to wonder if he could be even younger, and to question the wisdom of bringing him into the ranks of professional boxing—especially in Mexico, of all places.
The naysayers appeared to be proven right when Curtis lost by unanimous decision to Javier Perez Calderon. The Mexican himself is only 18 years old and weighs 105 pounds, but two years and six pounds can make a difference at such a young age and at such a low weight.
“It was a good experience, though,” Curtis said. “It was crazy; I had the fans on my side. I was showing off and after the game they all came up to me, wanting to take pictures and copying my every move.”
Fanfare was a recurring theme, and Curtis had lofty predictions for himself, so falling at the first hurdle must have hurt. But it also served as motivation. “I started training 20 times harder,” he says, and the results spoke for themselves. Curtis has barely lost a round since then, let alone a fight, and while his opponents have been typical workhorses, he has shown off the flashy skill set that got him into the pros in the first place, thanks to one of the flashiest of them all—Roy Jones Jr.
Curtis tells the story of his big breakthrough: “We [Tony and family] went to Dubai for a holiday when I was 13 or 14. My dad liked it there and we ended up moving there. I went to a gym called Round 10 in Dubai. One day I heard Roy was in the gym, so I packed all my stuff, rushed over there and just went 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 that the pros would suit me better.
A plan was hatched to hand Curtis over earlier than expected, with his debut set to air on ProBox TV, which Jones co-founded. To prepare for it, Jones invited Curtis to stay with him at his home in Pensacola – an offer Curtis accepted just a week after he turned 16. A few months living and training with one of the greatest boxers of all time, before and after his professional debut, is the stuff of dreams for a young fighter, and although Curtis has since left the UAE, Jones remains on the team. “Roy is my mentor,” he says. “He’s a very wise man; I always go straight to him for advice.”
And what did his family think of it all – Curtis going to live with Jones, then traveling all the way to Mexico and Thailand to fight at 16, and deciding to take up boxing for a living at an age when most people are still in school or taking their first steps into more conventional jobs?
“We are a fighting family – me, my dad and I. [three] “We were brothers,” he said. “That’s all we did; we were always in the gym and we would never turn down a fight. Dad was always really into that.” [boxing]but he never did, so he took me to the gym when I was about seven. I was a hyperactive kid, running around, so that was his way of disciplining me. I didn’t really like it then, but when I was about 10, I started to like it. I’m not sure why; maybe I was starting to mature, and I had nothing else to do,”
And he still doesn’t.
“I eat, sleep and breathe boxing,” he said. “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 three in the morning and can’t get back to sleep, I’m in the gym.”
That gym, a short walk away, was a private gym built by his father, but Curtis officially fought at Undisputed Boxing in Sittingbourne, under trainer Billy Rumbol, who also flew overseas to catch Curtis. Jones Jr. is still involved, but Curtis needed a full-time trainer closer to home as he was back in the UK and wanted to fight here.
Managed by Ahmed Seddiqi in Dubai, the idea is that Curtis will split his time – and fights – between the UK and the UAE. The only thing he’s missing is a promoter – and, befitting a fighter with such big plans for himself, he’s courting the biggest in the land.
“I want to go with Eddie [Hearn]“We had a bit of a joke,” he said. “I spoke to Eddie three games ago and he said, ‘Let’s get a couple more wins and we’ll talk’. Well, I did that – now he has to keep his promise.”
The England show began last Saturday with an exhibition match at the Indigo at The O2 – a non-competitive one, to be sure, as he was still three days away from his 18th birthday, but a chance to appear in front of an audience of old, new and merely curious fans. He remains, after all, a London lad, despite all his international exploits, and will be remembered by those who followed his amateur campaign, which he says amounted to “12 or 15” matches and included national titles at Schoolboy and Cadet level.
“I wasn’t really popular in the amateur scene,” he said. “It was too political and I didn’t work. And I always had people telling me I had a professional style. I was more into professional boxing.” [style] than I do in the amateurs. I can take it slow, and I like the flashiness of the game. In the amateurs, they don’t like my flashiness.”
That flash, that ostentation, that confidence is probably just a byproduct of youth, because Curtis doesn’t come across as arrogant or disrespectful. It just comes across as someone who enjoys what he does. He’s also proven that he understands the importance of sacrifice and leaving his comfort zone in the pursuit of boxing glory, and that there are no shortcuts to getting there.
Yet, despite having more time than most, Curtis understands that time flies in any boxing career – including his.
“I just want to get as many belts as possible,” he said.
“Before I get too old.”
