A big money fight against long-time rival Mike Perry is right there for the taking, but according to Till it has to happen under normal boxing rules, not bare-knuckle.
Since leaving the UFC nearly two years ago, Darren Till has struggled to secure himself a big fight. The only one that’s available is one that he definitely doesn’t want.
That would be a clash against long-time rival “Platinum” Mike Perry under bare knuckle boxing rules. The two men have been talking trash to each other for several years, and once “The Gorilla” left the UFC in 2022 it seemed like a fight was finally possible.
Well it is … just not in Perry’s home promotion BKFC.
“I don’t care, I will fight him,” Till explained on The MMA Hour. “I’m not saying no because I’m scared, I’m saying no because I don’t need to fight bare-knuckle right now. I’m not busting my face up at 31, f— that. What birds are going to look at me?”
Bare knuckle boxing has a well deserved reputation for being extra brutal. The wrapped hands slice faces up within seconds, often leaving both fighters a bloody mess after a minute or two. So is it completely reasonable for Darren Till to refuse to fight in the sport? Sure. Are we as fans going to accept that decision happily? No.
Till reportedly turned down a $2 million offer to fight Mike Perry at the last Knucklemania. Since then he’s been booked and then dropped from a July 20th Jake Paul card against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. due to visa issues. And then there was the gigantic disaster that was his last-second Social Knockout 3 boxing match against Muhammad Mutie in Dubai.
Mutie went down in the second round off a single punch to the back of the head, and looked like he was on his way to earning a DQ win or a No Contest when Till called him a coward. That sparked a brawl that saw the ring get flooded with people kicking and punching.
Not a good look, but it’s the kind of thing that generates traction in the Influencer boxing world. And since Mutie displayed he was clearly able to keep fighting, the fight was ruled a Till win via TKO (injury).
“You know what? The guy probably did us a favor,” Till said. “Because look online. The whole world is talking about it, so it’s a good thing. It’s not a bad thing. Darren Till is always in the middle of some s—.
“But s— happens, mate. I’ve been in brawls all my life. I’ve been amongst the chaos all my life. So look, it’s just another day in the office. Got the first [boxing] win and now all these big fights, what I’ve been campaigning for, they’re going to come. So all in all, mate, bit of a mad week, last-minute fight, all good.”