Kaye Scott has never recorded a knockout in her professional career, and she doesn’t believe that needs to change for her to secure victory against Olivia Curry on Saturday.
Scott, of Sydney, Australia, will face Chicago’s Curry in a 10-round women’s middleweight bout on Saturday at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, with the vacant WBA and WBC titles on the line.
Scott, 4-1-1, battled the 35-year-old Curry to a draw in September. The bout, deemed one of the better fights of the year, will now be run back in a rematch mere months later.
“Obviously, a knockout makes everything absolutely clear,” Scott, 41, told BoxingScene. “I do think I need to do things a little bit more conclusively than I did last time.”
The first bout saw Scott, who has a deep amateur pedigree, shock many onlookers, as she opted to sit in the pocket and exchange with Curry, 7-2-2 (2 KOs), a pressure fighter. Scott says she took a week off from the gym and went on a vacation, only to start another training camp. Although she didn’t watch the first fight back until two weeks later, she was reminded of an earlier part of her career when she fought on a quick turnaround.
“A huge majority of my career was in the amateurs, where you pretty much don’t have an offseason,” Scott said. “It is another opportunity to get those world title belts, so it is full steam ahead. I proved to myself that I know that I am worthy, I know that I am capable, and I know that I am a better boxer than her. I have been boxing for 17 years. I just know I am ready to take this opportunity and become champ.”
Scott also credited the work of a mindset coach. She worked with that coach ahead of her previous bout with the 36-year-old Curry. Scott was impressed by Curry’s resilience against forward pressure, but she still believes her edge in the matchup will be decisive enough.
“I think I have a little bit more ring IQ than her,” Scott said. “Our game plan will make sure the judges can’t get it wrong.”
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.
