Murphy interest in boxing began as a child when he was trained by his father, a former US Army boxing champion. Due to the fact that boxing is about as popular as Ice Hockey in Alabama, he began taking karate, which he continued for many years. Curt continued to work on his boxing skills while involved in karate. Due to the boxing training Curt received from his father, he was able to win and place in several karate tournaments. Curt attended the University of Alabama, where he was a walk-on member of the football team. He decided he needed a break from college and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1980. His interest and training in boxing grew while in the Marine Corps. Curt’s record was 14-2 while boxing in the Marine Corps. Once Curt returned home to Alabama, he quickly gained a name as a tough competitor who was always in shape. Curt was recognized for excellent footwork, a great jab, his counterpunching ability and good defense. He won several consecutive amateur state titles and was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 1986 Alabama Sports Festival.
Murphy continued to compete throughout the southeast until 1988 and gained a national ranking in the 1980’s. He retired from active competition in late 1989 and went to work for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department as a Deputy Sheriff. Murphy returned to win the International Law Enforcement Games Boxing Championship in 1994.
Murphy has trained with several trainers and at gyms across the USA, gaining a lot of valuable tips from Mannish Brown, a retired pro from New York. Brown fought many top names in the late 1950’s and throughout the 1960’s. He was a sparring partner for Sugar Ray Robinson and many other top name fighters of that era. Curt has trained extensively in Las Vegas, most notably the Nevada Partners Boxing Gym in North Las Vegas. The gym manager is Richard Steele, former world class professional referee. Curt and Mr. Steele began a friendship which continues to this day. Curt has also been a professional boxing judge, is licensed from the state of Tennessee as a boxing manager/trainer and a registered Level II Coach with USA Boxing. He also has trained in Judo and Brazilian Jui-jitsu.
Murphy appeared as an extra in 2002 in the short film “Johnny Flyton”. The movie stared Dash Mihok, who has been in such films as “Romeo and Juliet”, “The Thin Red Line”, ” The Perfect Storm”, and appeared on numerous television shows. The film was nominated for an academy award for “Best Short Film” that year.
Murphy can teach you the boxing skills that you need to win in the ring; or if you have no desire to compete, he can train you to look like a “real boxer”. His philosophy is simple: master the basics and everything else follows. Your footwork, stance and basic punches need to be solid because you will always use and fall back on the basics. “Your basics are like the wheels of a car,” says Curt. “If your car has bad wheels, it’s won’t go far.” Curt will teach you the “sweet science” beginning with the stance, hand placement, footwork, and the basic punches. You will build your boxing knowledge from the ground up to have a solid foundation. Curt is a big believer in the jab and has been sought after just to teach people the jab.
You must have patience and a strong desire to learn the art of boxing. If boxing was easy, there would be many more world champions. Boxing is not fighting. There is so much more to boxing than just throwing your hands towards a bag or opponent. It’s about being relaxed, speed, distance and many other attributes. It is very important that you have an open mind and understand that it takes time to learn the proper techniques involved in boxing.