Kurt Scoby returns to the ring with new trainer, in new weight class

At his lowest point, Kurt Scoby found out who was really on his side.

Scoby was still licking his wounds following a sixth round stoppage loss to Dakota Linger in April when he was forced to take stock of his life and career. The 28-year-old from Duarte, Calif. had risen up quickly through the ranks since turning pro in 2020. He had gained significant exposure through Overtime Boxing, which drew 22,000 likes on a post while hyperbolically comparing him to Mike Tyson. Now he had come crashing back to Earth with a loss to a relentless spoiler.

After two days of wallowing, Scoby’s fiancee’s father told him it was time to beat the count and get back to work. That’s exactly what he intends to do this Friday, when he returns to the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta for a six-round bout against Daniel Lim (11-1, 3 knockouts).

“There are a ton of people who turned their back on me. That always happens when you lose or you do something bad in this world. This shows me that I am great. I still have my family, I still have my son, I still have my daughter, I still have my fiancee’ [Christie Bonacci]. Those are the people that really matter to me. This fight is for them, not the fans, no one else,” said Scoby (13-1, 11 knockouts).

This won’t be the same Scoby that fans saw last time he was in the ring. He has dropped down a division to lightweight, and will compete at a catchweight of 137 pounds for this outing. He has also switched trainers to Hector Bermudez, moving his training base to the Universal Training Academy in Springfield, Mass. after years of training under Don Saxby and Leon “Kat” Taylor at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Scoby, who now makes his home in northeastern Pennsylvania, has been staying in the gym’s living quarters for the past two months as he acclimates to a new head coach, who had previously trained Javier Fortuna, Danny O’Connor and Carlos Gongora, among others.

“I just needed a new start and a new change,” said Scoby. “Literally one week after the fight I had to uproot my living and come train here. I actually live in the gym now during this fight camp.”

Part of the adjustments to his preparations, he says, is a focus on his boxing technique over his previous camps, where strength and conditioning was the main focus.

Co-manager Brandon Stump says the changes Scoby made to his training camp will be evident when he steps back in the ring.

“A loss doesn’t defines us, how we respond does. Kurt has bounced back from his last fight and made the necessary changes he felt he needed. I’m so very proud of how he has carried himself during that challenging, self discovery time,” said Stump, who manages Scoby with Daniel Gonzalez.

“Scoob is a problem, and for those who don’t believe in him….watch.”

Lim, 24, is a native of the Philippines who now lives in Deerfield Beach, Fla. He turned pro in 2015 and won his first ten fights but saw his career stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic, staying out of the ring for two a half years until mid-2022. His only defeat, a second round stoppage loss to Emiliano Moreno last November, was in his only previous fight in the United States.

Scoby hopes that this fight marks a new start for him.

“I had to understand the reason this happened to me, and just you gotta head back to the gym, you gotta get more in tune with yourself and then you can tell your story. At the end of the day this is all to help tell my story to someone who is struggling out there. That’s my end goal,” said Scoby.

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