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Tommy Fury pulls out of Darren Till boxing match over fears of 'MMA tactics'; Till, promoter respond

darshan desai
Uncrowned
·5-min read
Darren Till reacts after John Fury (not pictured) appears to throw a bottle of water towards him during a press conference at Leonardo London. Picture date: Tuesday November 19, 2024. (Photo by John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images)
Darren Till is quite upset. (John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images)

Tommy Fury has canceled his Misfits boxing bout with former UFC star Darren Till.

The British pair were set to meet Jan. 18 at Manchester's Co-op Live.

Fury, 25, posted a statement on social media in the early hours of Friday morning explaining the move was due to Till's threats to resort to MMA tactics.

"I can't believe I'm writing this but I am now not fighting Darren Till on January 18th 2025. For the one simple reason being that Darren has stated over and over that he does not want to abide by professional boxing rules and that if he is loosing [sic] the fight he will resort to kicking and other stupid MMA tactics. I am a professional boxer, I have been out of the ring for over a year and I wanted this to be a great BOXING fight for the fans. I have wasted weeks in training camp. We are working hard to get a new opponent and date. I promise to get a better opponent and better fight for you guys. Good news around the corner."

Till claimed at the launch press conference, which descended into utter chaos, that he would "kick Fury straight in his face" if he found himself to be losing at any point.

"I don't walk in a room like this and see boxers and go, 'S***,'" Till said, "I walk in, no one in 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. How about that?"

Following Fury's statement canceling the fight, Till posted several furious messages on social media clarifying that his comments at the press conference threatening to break boxing rules were made in jest.

"Tommy Fury, [you] are the biggest s***house I have ever met in my life," Till remarked. "Do not ever call yourself a fighter again. I was selling the fight to make me and you more money, you absolute empty head."

Till added that he will still be fighting on Jan. 18 in Manchester and a replacement opponent is being sought by Misfits Boxing. Former two-weight boxing champion Billy Joe Saunders has already thrown his name into the running to replace Fury for the event.

"Make a offer, I'll step in," Saunders said. "Old fat gipsy boy will will take this over from here."

Misfits Boxing founder KSI, who previously fought Fury and whose company was promoting the Fury vs. Till bout, scoffed at Fury's actions following the withdrawal.

"Tommy Fury is scared of getting kicked in a boxing match hahaha," KSI said on X. "Darren Till is not gonna kick you mate, relax and prepare for your fight in January on Misfits."

It would've been the first fight for Fury (10-0, 4 KOs), the half-brother of former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, since his unanimous decision win over KSI in 2023.

Till, 31, is better known for his 24-fight MMA career, which included 12 UFC appearances and an unsuccessful 2018 challenge for the UFC welterweight title against Tyron Woodley. The Liverpudlian's boxing experience is limited to a first-round TKO victory over Palestinian MMA fighter Mohammad Mutie in a July exhibition match.