It’s the age-old question in combat sports – which fighter is the most dangerous; the one who does this because they need to or the one who does this because they want to? (photo by )

One look at Olivia Curry’s work as a director, producer and photographer clearly puts her in the position of boxing because she wants to, not because she needs it to make a living or escape a bad life situation.

“I love boxing and it feels like I have to do it in terms of my own mental and emotional state,” she said. “Boxing sucks people in, and no matter who you talk to, you need to do it for a reason other than just making money. And very few people get to where they're really making money at this sport, so I think anyone who chooses this path is doing it for another reason. For me, that's something that I can't quite place that just draws me into it and doesn't let me quit until I've seen exactly what I can do, what my body can do, and how far I can push it.”

Curry has impressed thus far on her way to a 7-1 pro record at middleweight, but this Saturday, she’ll get a good indication of how far she can take this when she faces the boogeywoman of the super middleweight division, unbeaten Shadasia Green, on the Jake Paul-Nate Diaz card in Dallas. It’s a step up, literally and figuratively, but Curry didn’t shy away from taking the fight.

“On the one hand, I think it's true, she's very avoided; a lot of people don't want to fight her, but we were talking about the fight with her before we got this call,” said Curry. “I'm usually a middleweight, and this is super middleweight, but we've been looking at options more and more lately because it has been hard to find people to fight. So, it's like, okay, what's the next step? She was obviously on that list of possible fights that could happen, so when they called us, it wasn't a huge surprise and we were ready for that call. But, on the other hand, I think for women, especially at this point, you want to make sure that you don't mess up the market for everyone else. So we had to wait until it was the right time and a fair price and all that good stuff. But I'm excited. I think she is someone that people are listing as one of the best at these higher weight classes. And why wouldn't you want to fight the best in the sport?”

It seems like a simple question, but it’s usually not a simple answer, particularly on the men’s side of the sport. But on the ladies’ side, there is clearly more willingness to take risks and take fights where the final outcome doesn’t appear to be a given. And though Green is rightfully the favorite after jumping out to a 12-0 record with 11 knockouts, including a sixth-round stoppage of former world champion Elin Cederroos in February, Curry isn’t feeling the pressure heading into Saturday night, and she knows that a fast start might put some doubt in Green’s head early and set the tone for an upset in American Airlines Center.

“I think that's very important,” said Curry. “I haven't seen a ton of her fights, but I saw her past fight with Cederoos and I saw another one of her old fights. I think everyone's afraid of her, and I think if you come out afraid, that's no way to start a fight. You have to come out wanting to win, and that's no secret; I think that's what all boxers should be doing. So I'm going to come out ready to win, give it my all in the first round, and by the end of the first round, I want her to just wish she had called someone else.”

And just like that, Curry would be on the world boxing map and in the race for a title and even bigger fights. With that, though, comes plenty of media attention, something someone more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it, would have to get used to. Luckily this week, Paul, Diaz, Amanda Serrano and Heather Hardy will likely be getting the bulk of the spotlight, but Curry is using her first big pay-per-view event as a way to ease into this new world.

“I'm sort of an introverted person,” she laughs. “I do okay with talking to people, and giving an interview is no big deal. But yeah, I'm not really in this for the attention. But one thing I am excited about is that I've never fought in a big stadium or in front of a big crowd, and I think that will probably have sort of an electrifying effect. I'm excited to hear the crowd and be in that kind of big stadium type of venue.”

Sounds like someone who specializes in telling stories outside the ring is penning quite a tale for herself inside it.

“I think that's a hundred percent of why I'm doing this,” Curry said. “My cousin, who I'm really close to, I was talking with him at one point. He and I used to grow up together and in the summers, we'd go visit our grandparents. My grandfather liked to fish a lot, so we'd fish with him, but he passed away when we were 12 or so, and neither of us ever really fished after that. But last year, my cousin started fishing again, and I asked him, ‘Why are you interested in this? What's going on?’ And he told me, ‘I just kept thinking that I want to be the kind of guy who fishes. And then one day I thought, well, all that I have to do is just be that guy.’  You don't have to be born a certain thing; you go choose what kind of person you want to be. That kind of resonated with me where I'm like, people talk about imposter syndrome, especially for women, and all sorts of lack of self-confidence and stuff like that. I was always thinking as I was doing the sport, I want to be a real boxer. I want to really do it. And it turns out all you have to do is just keep showing up and you become it. And that's a good lesson for life.”

But is Olivia Curry more dangerous than Shadasia Green?

“I think there's going to be a little bit of the narrative that I’m doing it for a paycheck type of thing, just looking at the experience and the records and all that,” said Curry. “But I don't see it that way. If I thought that I couldn't win, if I thought that I wasn't going to go in and give a hundred percent, I wouldn't be doing it. There are easier ways to make a little bit of money.”