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The Gorilla, The Cobra and the unmistakable hype machine that is Misfits Boxing
As soon as my partner opened her eyes on Sunday the first thing she said to me was not “Good morning”, “Hello handsome” or even “You were snoring again last night you sausage”.
It was “Did Joey Essex win?”
It got me thinking about the actual reach of Misfits Boxing. My partner has watched plenty of big boxing fights with me down the years but even during a seminal event like Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk I, she is often too quickly distracted by Instagram reels on her iPhone or the WhatsApp Benidorm group chat.
Indeed, after a bright and attentive start on May 18, 2024, while watching the undisputed heavyweight throwdown from Riyadh live on DAZN – much like ‘The Gypsy King’ himself – she faded down the stretch and was actually in bed before the scores were announced and Usyk was crowned the master of all men.
However, if the first thing my better half thinks about upon waking on a Sunday was whether ex-TOWIE star Essex won his fight or not (he did by the way against YouTuber Numeiro in a bout that was certainly not one for the purists) then you can safely assume that that Misfits has a massively powerful reach in terms of viewership and global media exposure.
The promotion excels as an entertainment powerhouse, focusing on crossover events featuring influencers, athletes, and fighters, which helps to attract a huge and diverse audience that may not typically watch traditional boxing.
They are masters at creating hype, which brings us to Darren Till and Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch. Boxing had been pretty quiet in the dog days of August, as this is traditionally a time when Messrs Hearn and Warren take a well-earned vacation.
On Saturday night Till finished Misfits 22 in fine style at the AO Arena in Manchester with a dramatic KO win over Luke Rockhold. The Liverpool former UFC star looks like he is in the best fighting shape he has been in for a very long time and his finish in round three was as fluent as it was violent. Till looked decent and wasted no time after the fight had ended in calling out retired British boxing star Froch for a fight down the line.
'The Gorilla' was going absolutely mental at ‘The Cobra’ ringside as security struggled to hold him back while Carl just sat there nonchalantly gnawing on an apple was pure theatre.
Social media was unsurprisingly buzzing after the event and Till – after a fine display – was revved up and happy to call out Froch, Jorge Masvidal and other top names from the world of combat sport. Say what you want about Misfits boxing, it’s certainly unique and does venture into the surreal at times.
I think Till peaked during an iFL interview in the dressing room after Saturday’s fight when he called Andrew Tate a “Baldy Top G nugget”. Despite the spicy vernacular the general consensus from Team Till was that “all of them” can get it.
Froch himself didn’t waste much time in jumping in on YouTube with a ‘Is it time to come out of retirement? | Carl Froch responds to Darren Till's call out’ video.
While he confirmed in one breath on said video that he was 48 years old and 11 years retired from boxing, and also that he had done everything he wanted to do in the sport, the two-time world champion’s eyes lit up when in another breath he described Till as “absolutely f — g useless” and that a fight against him would be “easy money”.
Two-time WBC super-middleweight world champion Froch – who ended with a proud pro record of 33-2 (24) - insists a fight with Till “is a mismatch”, and he has been very vocal with his views about the Scouse southpaw’s skills in a boxing ring.
There are levels to this game, but 11 years of inactivity is no joke and Till has now headlined three Misfits boxing shows off the belt this year. He has been genuinely active, putting in the work and the talk is he will be out again before the end of 2025. He is 16 years younger than Froch, who has a high opinion of himself but has not been seen taking punches for pay since sparking out George Groves at Wembley in 2014.
That’s a lot of water under the bridge, and pride is a funny thing, especially when it comes to former fighters. Froch – based on his past achievements and wins against men such as Jean Pascal, Lucian Bute and Jermain Taylor - will be convinced he could handle Till despite the fact he is fast approaching quinquagenarian status.
The older you get, the better you were, as Chris Eubank Senior's trainer Ronnie Davies, used to say. Opinion online seems divided. I saw one post in the early hours of Sunday morning on X/Twitter which bluntly prophesised “Darren Till would put that man in a blender”, while a mate of mine who used to box himself said in a WhatsApp back and forth on Sunday morning “Froch smashes him in any discipline”.
Will it happen? If KSI vs. Logan Paul can do over a million PPV buys, I am convinced Till vs Froch can do huge numbers. The narrative is there. People are interested. And Misfits’ ability to draw millions cannot be overlooked. Despite him relentlessly trotting out the “… rendered George Groves unconscious in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium” line, the Nottingham man is very self-aware and financially switched on.
He will know Misfits and Till represent a different facet of boxing’s evolving landscape, and if the numbers work for him don’t think for one minute he wouldn’t risk the new nose and his fistic legacy for a mega-payday against Till.
Let’s have it right. Till ironing out Froch would be peak 2025 and appeal massively to the UFC crowd, but just as many boxing fans would be buying the PPV in the hope that Froch can roll back the years and add another brutal KO to his highlight reel.
Till and Froch throwing hands is not going to tarnish boxing’s reputation in any meaningful way. It certainly won’t harm their respective bank balances either.
On the contrary, as long as both men come out of the fight healthy, it would probably act as a welcome shot in the arm for the sport, certainly in the UK where huge stadium fights are not happening with the regularity that they once were due to so many big events now landing in Saudi.
‘The Gorilla’ vs The Cobra’ in a pre-Christmas PPV cracker? Take our money…
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