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NRL star Curtis Scott is now Australia's most controversial boxer - and he's about to fight a footy great in his biggest test yet Ex-Storm player is undefeated as a professional fighter Faces a new level of opponent on Wednesday night By SHAYNE BUGDEN FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA Published: 07:38 GMT, 19 November 2024 | Updated: 07:38 GMT, 19 November 2024 e-mail View comments Curtis Scott has smashed his way through his fellow former NRL star Joey Leilua and AFL legend Barry Hall since swapping footy for boxing - but he freely admits he's facing his toughest test when he punches on with an All Blacks great on Wednesday night. The 27-year-old former Melbourne Storm and Canberra Raiders hard nut has compiled three wins from three fights, all by knockout, starting with his vicious win over Leilua in March - but his latest opponent Liam Messam is a big step up. Unlike Leilua - who had next to no ring experience - and Hall, who was 47 and coming off a bad KO loss to Sonny Bill Williams , Messam has seven wins and one draw to his name in a ring career that kicked off back in 2015.
The 40-year-old retired from top-flight rugby in 2020 after making 43 Test appearances for the all-conquering New Zealand national team. 'He's definitely got some skills and is quite the athlete, representing the All Blacks,' Scott said. 'That's no easy feat.
He was captain of his club [the Waikato Chiefs] and he went to the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games. Curtis Scott (right) is coming off a devastating knockout win over AFL legend Barry Hall (left) - but he's stepping up a class for his next bout The former NRL star is up against All Blacks great Liam Messam (pictured left with Aussie boxing legend Danny Green) whose record as a professional stands at 7-0 'He's had quite the career and I'm definitely in for a tough fight. 'He obviously knows what he's doing in there [the ring] .
.. but I train hard and work hard and I think it's going to be a really great fight.
' Scott told Daily Mail Australia that Messam will definitely be his hardest opponent and that he's been concentrating on improving his footwork in the lead-up to the bout, which he only had a few weeks' notice for. He's prepared by sparring with the likes of former UFC world champion Robert Whittaker and Aussie cruiserweight world champion Jai Opetaia, as well as training alongside rising Sydney-based boxer Brock Jarvis, who has been a huge help to him as he seeks to improve his game. Scott's decision to pursue a boxing career has been a controversy magnet, coming as it did after his time in the NRL was effectively ended when he was found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Aussie athlete Tay-Leiha Clark.
Fight fans lashed out in anger at boxing promoters who gave him an opportunity to keep his name in the spotlight after his lopsided, first-round battering of Hall in July. But that's all water off a duck's back to Scott. 'To be honest, as far as I'm concerned, that's all in the past,' he told Daily Mail Australia when asked about his convictions on three charges.
Scott (pictured with Green at the weigh-in for Wednesday Uncaged fight night) told Daily Mail Australia Messam will definitely be his toughest opponent yet The main event sees Kris Terzievski (left) fighting former UFC star Tyson Pedro (right) for the WBC Bridgerweight International Title 'I don't agree with the verdict ...
and it shouldn't be a death sentence [on my career]. 'I'm human, and humans make mistakes. 'If people got to know the real me, they'd see through it all.
' Scott went on to say his dream fight - assuming he beats Messam - would be against his fellow NRL stars turned boxers, Paul Gallen and Sonny Bill Williams, who have both said they have retired from the ring. He would also be keen on a crossover bout with an MMA star - which describes the main event on the Uncaged fight card he's fighting on, being shown live and commercial-free on Stan Sport . Former UFC fighter Tyson Pedro is taking on Kris Terzievski for the WBC Bridgerweight International Title as he makes his first foray into boxing.
The bout was originally scheduled to take place earlier this year but had to be postponed when Pedro suffered a gruesome arm injury in training . The fighters have taken heated shots at each other in the lead-up to the clash, with Terzievski launching into a fiery spray last week. 'You've got a UFC fighter that's coming into the boxing game now.
He couldn't make it in his own sport and he says he's not doing this for a cash grab,' said the Victorian, who beat Gallen in 2022. 'I heard his last interview, in his UFC contest, he said he had to rob someone on the way out because he wasn't making enough money and all of a sudden he's coming to boxing and he's the A side, making all the money. 'It's all about the Tyson Pedro show.
'The reality is this ...
all the pressure's on me. I'm fighting a 0-0 boxer. 'The fact that I am being disrespected, I feel like it's Gallen all over again.
Had an NRL bloke who thought he was a boxer, he's come over to the sport, done a few things and all of a sudden I'm the underdog on the B side. 'So they're going to learn for the second time round they've picked the wrong guy. They've made the mistake again and on November 20 I'm going to show them all.
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