“I have given up a significant chunk of my adult life for this sport and to chase a dream, and it hurts, man,” continued the 34-year-old, whose son lives in Ohio, while he lives and trains in Las Vegas. “You sacrifice a lot and you reach a point where you wonder not only how much did you sacrifice, but how much did the people around you have to sacrifice for you to live your dream before you’re like, ‘You know what — maybe it’s not gonna happen?’
“You try to walk away and be better for everybody around you, but even then, what hurts even more is living with the thought that you never saw it through to the end,” he added. “That’s what scares me. I don’t want to be 60 years old, thinking, ‘Man, I wonder if I could have done it?’”
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This weekend, Curtis finally gets the chance to prove something he and those close to him have known for quite some time: that he’s more than capable of competing on the biggest stage in the sport.
Just under four weeks ago, Curtis volunteered for this assignment opposite Hawes when the ascending middleweight’s original opponent, Deron Winn, withdrew from their scheduled bout on the morning of weigh-ins. Curtis weighed in, but Hawes passed on the short-notice fight, leading to the duo being rebooked for this weekend.
It was an extension of the mindset that has propelled the “Action-Man” throughout this year, where he’s already racked up four victories in three different weight classes, beginning with a stoppage win over UFC veteran Kyle Stewart and capped by a unanimous decision triumph over another Octagon alum, Kenny Robertson, at the end of July.
