By Wendy Burton
Times Editor
—
Tyler “The Titan” Curry, 15, and Kyle “The Crazy Eye” Curry, 12, love to fight.
Not with each other, at least not all of the time, but as boxers with coach Tyrel Brown at Hooligans Fight Club.
The brothers started training with Brown about three years ago.
“We didn’t plan on Tyler fighting; it was just to learn,” Scott said. “But Ty (Brown) asked him if he wanted to fight in Alma about a month later and we told him, ‘if you think he’s ready’.”
Brown thought Tyler was definitely ready and, at the tender age of 11, the young man fought his first boxing match and won.
“Tyler and Kyle are both really quick,” said mom Ranell Curry. “People actually enjoy watching them fight because they are so fast.”
Tyler credits his quickness to his coach’s instruction and not missing practice for nearly four years, he said.
Brown said Tyler is a perfect example of what training does for a young person such as the ones he coaches at Hooligans.
“He was a quiet kid, kind of in his shell. He started this and it’s given him a lot of confidence in himself,” Tyler’s coach said.
However, Kyle Curry doesn’t appear to need a confidence boost.
“There was a kid that refused to come out and fight him one time because Kyle gave him the crazy eye,” Scott said. “So that’s what Tyler nicknamed him.”
Kyle wrestled for three years before signing up for boxing classes at Hooligans.
He thought what Tyler was doing looked pretty fun, he said.
“It was so intense and I thought it would be a good workout,” Kyle said.
His mother joked he really joined to get tough and buff.
Nonetheless, Brown said both of the Curry brothers have a lot of respect for their opponents, as he wants his students to learn.
“Everyone they come across, even though they’ve trained, they don’t have the attitude that they’re the baddest man on the planet,” Brown said.
Instead, his students learn to get up and compete on a stage in front of a crowd. They learn not to be nervous and to always respect their opponent, he said.
“If you can do that you can pretty much do anything you want for the rest of your life,” Brown said.
He knows from experience exactly what his students learn from the intense training they participate in at Hooligans.
“It’s great anger management; it’s not only good for good kids but good for kids with anger issues to give them an outlet.” Brown said.
When a fighter loses his temper during a fight, he loses the fight, he added.
But for Tyler, it’s all about the fun.
“We do fun, intense workouts. I like the competition too,” Tyler said. “I like the sparring and that kind of thing.”
Reach Wendy Burton at 684-2926 or wburton@ muskogeephoenix.com.
