Curtis "The Explosive Thin Man " Bush (born May 26, 1962) is an American former World Champion kickboxer

Kickboxing

Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....

 in 4 weight divisions: ISKA Welterweight 147 lbs, Superwelterweight 153 lbs, Light-middleweight 156 lbs and WKKO World Middleweight Champion 160 lbs and 2-Time USBA Boxing Champion: Jr. Middleweight 154 lbs and Middleweight 160 lbs from Virginia Beach, Virginia

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...

.

Career highlights

Curtis Bush began karate in 1976 at age 13 and kickboxing at age 17. His fighting career lasted from 1979-1999. He fought 22 times outside of the United States.
As a professional kickboxer and boxer, he had a total of 75 fights, including 54 wins with 40 KO's. 15 of those KO's were in the first round. After a successful amateur kickboxing career (1979-1983), Bush turned pro on June 11, 1983 in Memphis, Tennessee. He KO'd undefeated Jackie "Hollywood" Dixon 8-0 (5 KO's) in the second round. The bout was televised on ESPN. Curtis became the PKA #9 world light-welterweight contender when he knocked out #5 PKA world contender Ken Comer. Bush stopped Comer with a roundkick to the head in the 5th round in Hull, Quebec. Curtis made his professional boxing debut on February 16, 1984. He knocked out Charles Carter in the second round in Virginia Beach, VA. He was picked by Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...

  in 1984 to box on his Champion Sports Pro Boxing Team in the Cayman Islands. Ali had watched Bush in a kickboxing match on ESPN

ESPN

Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

 knocking out George Morrisey with a 6th round head kick. Bush won his boxing fight by 4th round knockout. Curtis was now 3-0, 3 KO's as a professional boxer. Bush signed a six fight contract with Ali's lawyer, Richard Hirschfeld, to box in the Caribbean with a final bout in London, England for a minor title. The company folded right after the Cayman Islands fight for stock fraud. In 2005, captured fugitive Richard Hirschfeld committed suicide. In 1985, Bush fought PKA 4-time World Kickboxing Champion Cliff "Magic" Thomas in Atlanta, Georgia. Bush won the fight by unanimous decision. The bout was televised on ESPN. The win moved Bush to #4 in the PKA rankings. One month later, Bush knocked out Canadian welterweight champion Raynald " Courage of the Lion" Lamarre in Montreal, Canada. Those two wins pushed Bush to #2 in the ISKA world ratings after the demise of the PKA. He became the ISKA #1 world welterweight contender after knocking out then current #1 contender Paul Biafore in Toronto, Canada in 1987. Curtis won by 5th round knockout. Bush won his first world title in 1990 against #3 ISKA world contender Emmanuel Essissima in Paris, France. Curtis won a 12 round split-decision over the Camaroon, Africa fighter for the ISKA Light-Middleweight title. Bush was now 34-4-2 (25 KO's) as a professional kickboxer. His other three world titles were won against the ISKA/WKKO #1 world contenders. As a professional boxer, Bush became the IBF International Boxing Federation

International Boxing Federation

The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...

 #1 Intercontinental contender after winning the USBA Jr. Middleweight title with a 10th KO over Lynn Jackson in 1994. He captured his second USBA title with a 12 round decision over Kevin "Hitman" Hall for the Middleweight title in 1997. Bush appeared on ESPN/ESPN2 10 times, ESPN Classics 4 times and on Eurosport Television 3 times. Curtis retired on June 30, 1999 (age 37) after being stopped in the 9th round for the NBA World Middleweight Boxing Championship.

Acting

Curtis appeared with Bill "Superfoot" Wallace in 5 commercials for the Treco Powerstretch and SABBA in 1985. His first film role was playing a deranged poacher in the 1988 Canadian film Dragon Hunt filmed in Toronto, Canada. Bush was killed by the star Michael Mcnamara in a fight scene. He played a Foot in the hit films Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (film)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 American live-action film adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise directed by Steve Barron. The film was followed by three sequels: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993, and...

and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze is a 1991 American live-action film, It is the second Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, being the direct sequel to the 1990 film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Secret of the Ooze was then followed by a third film in 1993, and a fourth...

in 1989 and 1990. He starred in the locally produced UPN television series 464 Roadhouse in 1992. The series was based on the film Roadhouse starring Patrick Swayze. Curtis played Dillon where as Swayze played Dalton. The series lasted 4 episodes before being cancelled. Bush also released a 60 minute training video: A Beginners Guide To Professional Kickboxing in 1992. Ringside Products and Asian World of Martial Arts distributed it. He played a terrorist in the film Major Payne starring Damon Wayons in 1995. He starred in the gory, independent cult film Psycho Kickboxer (Official Trailer), which had its world premiere in 1997. In 2000, Curtis and his wife Baby were chosen to do the motion-capture and face scannings for the characters "Cobra" and "Tsuki" in the Xbox

Xbox

The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...

 video game: Bruce Lee: Quest of the Dragon released in 2002. Curtis continues to act and played an Army Sargeant in the ABC series LOST

Lost

-In cinema or television:*Lost , an ABC drama about people who become stranded on a mysterious island*Lost , a short-lived reality television program*Lost , an American thriller starring Dean Cain...

 in 2006.

Awards

• Curtis was honored with 'Curtis Bush Day' on April 27, 1995 by Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Martial Arts

• Began Tang Soo Do
  Tang Soo Do
  Tang Soo Do is a Korean martial art promoted by Hwang Kee that has roots in various martial arts, including taekkyeon and Subak.-Etymology:...
  
   in 1976 (age 13) with Patrick Frick
• Earned Black Belt in 1981
• Head Instructor: NIMA Karate 1981-1988
• Co-owner: Karate International 1988-1995
• Owner: Curtis Bush Karate Club 1995-2003

Amateur Kickboxing

• Began Kickboxing in 1979 with George Kelly, Robbie Oliver, Jr. Clay, David James,Tony Ornelas, David Batten
• Amateur Kickboxing 1980-1983
• Amateur Titles:
• Virginia State Welterweight Champion (147 lbs) W-3 Darnell Studavent Virginia Beach, VA 1981
• Virginia State Superwelterweight Champion (154 lbs) KO-3 Alphonzo Claiborne Chesapeake, VA 1982
• Amateur Record: 15-2 (11 KO's)

Pro Kickboxing

• Pro Kickboxing: 1983-1999
• Trainers: George Kelly, Tony Ornelas
• Chief-Cornerman/Cutman: George Kelly
• Cornermen: Francis Bush, Chris Bush, Robert Dickason, David James, Tony Ornelas, Dr. John Chappell
• Nutritionist: Dr. John Chappell
• Sparring Partners: #1 Michael J. Jacobson, George Kelly, Rob Dickason,Luke Marshall,Tony Ornelas, Gerald Pilley, David James, John Willis, Ron Talento, David Batten, Robbie Oliver, Jr. Clay, Jim "Bongo" Bailey, Dr. John Chappell, Ivan Kravitz, Jr Vulgamore
• Pro Kickboxing Record: 42-10-2 (30 KO's) 2NC

Professional Kickboxing Titles

• ISKA Southeast Welterweight Champion 147 lbs KO-3 Alan "The Doctor" Watson 29-5 (17 KO's) in Paradise Island, Bahamas

• FFKA United States Welterweight Champion 147 lbs KO-4 Chuck Cypress 15-3 (4 KO's) in Portland, Maine ESPN

• ISKA North American Welterweight Champion 147 lbs KO-2 Robert Visitacion 47-5 (36 KO's) in Lake Tahoe, NV ESPN

• ISKA North American Superwelterweight Champion 153 lbs W-10 Melvin "The Warrior" Murray 32-6 (10 KO's) in Toronto, Canada ESPN2

Professional World Kickboxing Titles

• ISKA World Welterweight Champion 147 lbs KO-7 ISKA #1 contender Piotr Falender 47-7 (14 KO's) in Virginia Beach, VA

• ISKA World Superwelterweight Champion 153 lbs W-12 ISKA #1 contender Tom Montgomery 40-8-4 (30 KO's) in Brighton, England

• ISKA/WKA Superwelterweight Unification Fight KO-8 WKA World Champion Champion Roberto Fatica 65-11-4 (24 KO's) in Belfast, N.Ireland ESPN2/Sky Sports

• ISKA World Light-Middleweight Champion 156 lbs W-12 ISKA #3 contender Emmanuel Essessima 109-10-2 (70 KO's) in Paris, France

• WKKO World Middleweight Champion 160 lbs KO-4 WKKO #1 contender Bubba "Blackhawk" Walters 37-5 (31 KO's) in Virginia Beach, VA

Notable Kickboxing Opponents

• World Champion Cliff "Magic" Thomas W-5
• World Champion Trevor Ambrose KO-2
• World Champion Richard "Gator" Hill KO-1, L-TKO9
• World Champion Paul Biafore D-10, KO-5, L-12
• World Champion Melvin Murray W-10
• World Champion Jerry "Goldenboy" Trimble D-12
• World Champion Lafayette Lawson KO-7
• World Champion Roberto Fatica KO-8
• PKA Canadian Welterweight Champion Reynald Lamarre KO-3
• ISKA United States Light-welterweight Champion Robert Visitacion
  Robert Visitacion
  Robert Visitacion was the United States Lightweight Kickboxing Champion and ranked number 2 in the World by ISKA & PKA in 1985. He held the Southeast Lightweight Kickboxing title in 1988 and ranked 5th in the World Rankings, and the Region 6 Points Champion USKA in 1982 at the beginning of his...
  
    KO-2
• ISKA United States Middleweight Champion Roy Mckown KO-3
• ISKA European Welterweight Champion Toussaint Andarelli W-12, NC-3
• ISKA European Middleweight Champion Michel Louart NC-7
• ISKA #1 Welterweight Contender Piotr Falender KO-7
• ISKA #1 Superwelterweight Contender Tom Montgomery W-12
• WKKO #1 Middleweight Contender Blackhawk Walters KO-4

Pro Boxing

• Began Boxing
  Boxing
  Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
  
   in 1983 (age 21) with David Miller
• Pro Boxing: 1984-1999
• Trainer: David Miller
• Chief Cornermen: David Miller, George Kelly
• Cornermen: Gerald Pilley, Tony Ornelas
• Sparring Partners: Gerald Pilley, David James
• #1 IBF Intercontinental Jr. Middleweight contender (1994)
• #11 NBA World Middleweight contender (1998)
• Final bout was for the NBA World Middleweight Championship L-TKO9 (1999)
• Pro Boxing Record: 12-5-2 (10 KO's)

Professional Boxing Titles

• USBA Jr. Middleweight Champion 154 lbs KO-10 Lynn Jackson in Virginia Beach, VA

• USBA Middleweight Champion 160 lbs W-12 Kevin Hall in Virginia Beach, VA

External links

• Acting Resume