Darren Till shouts at Tommy and John Fury (Image: PA)
Darren Till has provocatively claimed he’s prepared to forfeit his entire fight purse by resorting to a kick to the head against when they clash on January 18. Last month, the belligerent Liverpudlian issued a bold challenge, vowing to turn to MMA tactics if he was being outboxed. “At the end of the day, I can’t beat you, I’ll just kick you in the face in there,” Till declared.
“How about that? I’m a proper fighter, not a boxer. I don’t walk in a room like this and see boxing and go, ‘s***.’ I walk in, no one here is a threat to me. Not one person in this room, security, you, your dad are not a threat to me. I’m an MMA fighter, so if I want to kick you or elbow you in the face, I will, and no one can do anything about it.”
In retort, Fury dismissed Till’s audacious comments: “Well that’s not going to happen is it Darren. Because we ain’t in the cage now, we’re in the boxing ring and you’re going to find out that boxing is very different to MMA.”
Despite this, Till defiantly countered: “Well it obviously is, how are you going to stop me? If I’m losing the fight, I’m going to kick you straight in the face. You won’t know what’s hit you.” The altercation escalated further when stirred pandemonium, as security rushed to intervene following Fury Sr. ‘s water-squirting antics at Till, sparking a fracas which saw both camps clash.
Till, the former UFC welterweight contender, has been ramping up the anticipation amongst fans with recently released footage of him in training landing high kicks. Despite potential criticism for his outspokenness at a press event, the 31-year-old from remains unrepentant.
Darren Till and Tommy Fury clashed last month (Image: Getty)
In a chat , Till declared: “I will lose all of it. All of my money will go. But I don’t really care, I’m not arsed. I’m going to make this a dog fight. Wonderboy took about 50 grand off me. But I’m not arsed. I don’t care. I know there’s a little thing going on lately people talking about ‘why’s Darren Till saying he’s not arsed’? I’m just genuinely not arsed. It’s not a bad thing. Like, trust me, I’m the most loving man to my kids, to my woman, to my friends. But I just genuinely don’t care. You know what I care about? Just having a laugh and violence.”
He also provided details on the rules of his forthcoming bout, noting that he intends to bring a ferocious approach: “Eight three minute rounds at heavyweight with proper gloves and I’m going to come and f*** him up,” Till swore. “I’m going to f**** you up, Tommy. I am proper gonna f*** you. And if I can’t f*** you up, I’m gonna f*** your dad up. Little old f****** John.”
“I’m bringing in a few young, fast amateurs. I want speed in there. I’ve got my first sparring this week to get my eye. We’ve got a strong guy from the Bare Knuckle who’s coming in to rough me up. I’ve got a tall heavyweight coming in. He’s got long-range arms. So, yeah. I’m fired up. I can’t wait for Christmas. Christmas is gonna be lonely. Or do you know what? It might not be lonely. I might just get on the ale. Who gives a f***? But I’m absolutely gutted. I love Christmas. I love getting on the ale over Christmas. I love going out for three-day benders.”
Fury, younger brother of Tyson, hasn’t stepped into the ring since his victory over YouTuber KSI last year. Meanwhile, Till, who triumphed over Mohammad Mutie by technical knockout in his boxing debut exhibition bout, is set to make his professional boxing debut against ‘TNT’.