Darren Till has big plans for his boxing career.
On Wednesday, news broke that Till will make his professional boxing debut on the undercard of the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul event that takes place on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Till will face former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Till explained that this all came together unexpectedly but was something he simply could not turn down.
“The fight is one of the biggest of our generation,” Till said of the main event. “You’ve got Jake Paul who is a huge, massive star — and big in the world of boxing now as well — and you’ve got one of the best fighters to ever fight in the world, Mike Tyson. ... It’s a huge fight. It doesn’t get any bigger: Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson. ...
“They literally just approached me with the fight, with the name, the promotion, the venue, and in my eyes, the exposure this event is going to bring to any fighter, I think as a fighter, you can’t turn an opportunity like this down.”
Chavez Jr. has 61 professional boxing bouts under his belt, but has not been active lately, most recently winning a unanimous decision over David Zegarra in 2021. Chavez Jr. does have some experience with fights of this nature though as the 38-year-old fought Anderson Silva in 2021, losing a split decision to the MMA legend. And Till believes he’s going to deliver an even better performance than “The Spider” managed.
“I’m going to knock him flat out in two rounds,” Till said. “I’m just going to knock him out and flatline him. You don’t have to ask my why I’m confident, you don’t have to ask me about what he’s doing. I’m going to knock that man out in f***ing two rounds. ...
“Then I’m going to fight Jake Paul after it. And if Jake Paul’s not available, I’ll fight [Mike] Perry. I’ll fight anyone. Dillon Danis wants to fight me, so let’s go Dillon.”
Till most recently competed at UFC 282 where he got submitted by Dricus du Plessis in the third round. Following that loss, “The Gorilla” was released from the UFC to pursue other interests, and while there were near constant rumors about him making his way to BKFC to fight Mike Perry, Till has instead crafted a different course for his career, which he says starts in July.
“Now we begin. Now the journey starts,” Till said. “I’m going to bring influencer boxing to an end as soon as I knock Julio Cesar Chavez out. I’m going to bring it all to an end. I’m going to knock every single one of them out.”
So, come July, Till warns, Chavez Jr. better watch out, because he’s just the first to fall.
“I’m not going to disrespect a man who is a formidable opponent,” Till said. “He’s an ex-world champion. His dad’s a living legend. So it would be very wrong of me to disrespect him, but as I said, I’m not coming to f***ing make the numbers up in July. I’m coming to put on a show for everyone involved.”
