Curtis Scott says he would have been in the mix for next Wednesday’s NSW Origin side had he not been exiled from rugby league, but is now so serious about a fighting switch he’s signed up to the team of UFC superstar Robert Whittaker.
Fox Sports Australia can reveal Scott, who was denied an NRL return this year, and is now gunning to win an Australian cruiserweight title, has signed on to the expanding stable of Whittaker’s agent Titus Day.
The pair also share the same striking coach, Brian Doyle, who is currently in the Middle East helping Whittaker ready for what will be the UFC’s hyped Saudi Arabian debut this Sunday – where Bobby Knuckles headlines against rising Dagestani Ikram Aliskerov.
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Speaking from inside camp this week, both Doyle and Whittaker suggested the former Melbourne Storm centre is capable of having success with a career that, next up, sees him throw down against AFL legend Barry Hall at the Wollongong Entertainment centre on July 10.
That bout will take place on the undercard of Australian super bantamweight star Sam Goodman, who is risking a $1 million payday, his undefeated record, and guaranteed shot at Japanese megastar Naoya Inoue, to stay busy, fight world ranked Thai Chainoi Worawut — aka ‘Rock Man’ — and then throw down for all the belts against Inoue in December.
Quizzed on Scott signing into a UFC fight stable that includes the likes of himself, Steve Erceg, Jimmy Crute and Jacob Malkoun, Whittaker said: “Curtis and I haven’t sparred or anything yet, but from what I’ve seen of him, he is definitely training hard.
“His work ethic, it’s second to none and I’m expecting big things from him.”
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Doyle agrees, convinced the crossover fighter is on track to achieve a national title this year.
In preparation, the respected Sydney fight coach has had his charge sparring the likes of former Aussie cruiserweight champ Jason Whateley and heavyweight Johan Linde, a 2012 Olympian.
“Curtis is excited by challenges and Barry is definitely that — he’s a generational athlete,” the coach said
“So we’ve been sparring guys like Jason and Yohan – getting Curtis to deal with some range and height – and he’s gone really well.
“So we’ll continue down that path and test him against some difficult guys.”
Doyle added Hall could be Scott’s last crossover rival, because “he wants to make a career out of boxing and I think he can definitely do that.
“And once he does get in there with a quality boxer, I think that’s when people will really start taking notice of him.”
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Scott, meanwhile, says that while he is now ready to make a career of boxing, he would likely be on the cusp of selection for the Blues in Origin II next Wednesday night had he not been punted from the code.
Back in December, the former Melbourne Storm centre was denied an NRL return following a string of off-field issues and court battles.
In 2022, the footballer was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order after being found guilty of three charges against his ex-girlfriend, and was also sacked by Canberra in 2021 following a nightclub incident for which he was later cleared in court.
Speaking on the Ebbs and Flows podcast this week, Scott said of watching highlights from this year’s Origin series: “That’s the main thing that eats me up.
“Like, I know I’m in my prime now.
“If I was playing NRL now, I’d be an even better player than I was when I was 18 playing, and I was playing so well.
“That’s the thing that eats me up the most, where I could be knocking on the door to play Origin.
“I looked at the Origin team and I thought, ‘I would’ve been close’.
“If I was playing well, I reckon I would’ve been close.”
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Back in 2019, the NRL season was only a week old when reporters started asking the then rising Storm centre, still only 21, about following team-mate Josh Addo Carr into a sky blue jersey that year.
Asked about an Origin debut, Scott replied: “I will be doing everything I can to hopefully get a jersey … I will be putting my hand up, let’s put it that way”.
Speaking this week however, he leaguie suggested he had shown little interest in this year’s series, which continues next Wednesday night at MCG.
“I didn’t even watch the Origin,” he said of the series opener, which Queensland won.
“I watched a bit … seen the warmup and I was like ‘f***, I don’t even know who these guys are’
“I was like, ‘who’s this guy who is playing Origin?’
“I’ve been out of the game for a while now.
“It hasn’t been that long, but it feels like a long time.
“I remember playing Sam Thaiday and Darius Boyd.
“You think when they retired, that feels like so long ago. That’s when I was playing…”