Misfits Boxing 20 Live Blog: Darren Till vs. Anthony Taylor

This is the Misfits Boxing 20 main event live blog for Darren Till vs. Anthony Taylor, the influencer boxing match taking place on Saturday at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

Till, a former UFC welterweight title challenger, left the UFC in 2023 to pursue a career in boxing. He debuted last July in an exhibition bout against Mohammad Mutie and won by a strange TKO that led to a brawl in the ring.

Till was originally scheduled to fight Tommy Fury this weekend, but Fury pulled out of the fight, saying he was worried Till wouldn’t follow boxing rules. In Fury’s place, Taylor stepped in at short notice to face Till.

Taylor also comes from an MMA background, competing for numerous MMA organizations including Bellator before focusing on boxing in 2021. Although his start was rocky, Taylor is now on a four-fight winning streak and holds the Misfits light heavyweight title. This fight against Till is a catchweight fight and therefore Taylor’s title is not on the line.

Check out the Till vs. Taylor live blog below.

Before the fight: Here we are! Wade Plemons had just won a dominant decision win in the co-main event, meaning his till time.

Well, actually it’s KSI talk time. He’s in the ring asking the fans who he should fight, just killing time? I don’t know, but that’s not necessary.

Now let’s go. Taylor makes his way to the ring. He wears white gladiator shorts with gold trim. He’s jumping around, dancing enthusiastically and looking very, very confident. Man is ready for it.

Till goes to the ring in a traditional boxing robe, white with black trim. He looks completely unfazed by it all, like he’s not about to get into a fist fight. His swimming trunks are also white with black trim.

The announcer gets things going and it’s time to rumble. Final instructions and the fighters touch gloves. Go ahead.

Round 1: Till immediately takes the middle and looks massive there. Taylor is jumping around outside. Taylor lands a good right hand early, but Till walks through it. Until he moved Taylor around the ring and cornered him. Till unloads but Taylor slips out. Till pushes Taylor back, gets Taylor against the ropes and lands a few good punches. Taylor is so small in there and Till takes advantage of that.

Till’s left hand finds a home and Taylor literally pounces on him. Till’s jab is measured, but it lands. Taylor takes these shots well, but he takes a few of them. Taylor lands a jumping left hook but Till takes it. The size difference is the story of the first round.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Till.

Round 2: Slight low blow from Taylor at the start. He was warned not to go ahead with it. Taylor nods and then comes right back with a right hand. Open stance matchup and Taylor now looks to drill that power hand into the body. Till was very measured, went back with Taylor, but didn’t throw much in this round.

Till puts Taylor in the corner, but doesn’t pull the trigger. He often waits there. Taylor misses a few shots. Till finally connects one left hand and another. Taylor could be injured here. He starts covering up and moving along the ropes. Taylor doesn’t return fire at all and Till now mixes body and head until the end of the round.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Till, 20-18 Till overall.

Round 3: Until I’m hunting again. Taylor now easily goes back to the ropes and doesn’t even give Till much to think about. A few punches from Taylor fail, but then Taylor hits a one-two and tears the body apart. Till’s size is way too big. He’s just bullying Taylor in there and isn’t afraid of consequences.

OH! Till hurts Taylor with an uppercut! Taylor came in, missed a hard counter uppercut and then fell. The referee called it a push, but that’s not correct. He’s up and obviously injured, and Till is looking for him! Against the ropes and a left hand puts Taylor back on the mat. This time the referee warns Till about a push.

The fight begins again and Till is in attack mode while Taylor tries to survive. Left hand from Till, combo. Taylor survives the round.

MMA Fighting scores 10-8 Till in the round, 30-26 Till overall.

Round 4: It’s only a matter of time before Till gets Taylor out of there. He looked bad in the corner. Till starts the round by immediately pushing Taylor back. Lands a left hook. Taylor throws some here though, which is good. Shows life and tries to get involved again. Taylor even lands a right hand, but Till eats it. Taylor doesn’t seem to be able to do anything to him.

Another counter uppercut from Till and this one really puts him down! Taylor ducked his head as he came in, and Till had perfect timing. Taylor is in trouble but beats the count and Till pours out more now. Great shots! Taylor covers up and tries to survive. The referee stops Till during a combo to reprimand him for something. Should end the fight.

Till is undoubtedly attacking Taylor. Another uppercut catches Taylor and he’s on shaky ground. His left hand supports him. Taylor falls over, but the refs call it a push again. This could be stopped at any time. Taylor lands a right hand. Another “slip” and the referee continues to allow Taylor to flop around without issue. Bell tones.

MMA Fighting scores 10-8 Till in the round, 40-34 Till overall.

Round 5: Taylor’s corner allowing this to continue is bad. But they do. And Taylor tries to get back into the swing of things early with movement. But Till goes right through him and puts Taylor on the ropes. Nice left from Till lands. And another big uppercut. Until I timed it so well.

However, Taylor lands a good right hand and sucks blood from Till’s nose. However, he is still on the rise. Credit to Taylor for making this round competitive. Lands a right hand dip over the top. Clean shot, but Till eats it. But so far it’s bleeding. Another big uppercut from Till, but another right hand from Taylor. He throws everything into it.

And Till could slow down. Taylor overtook him during this lap. Both men stare each other down to end the round.

MMA Fighting scores 10-9 Taylor in the round, 49-44 Till overall.

Round 6: Taylor comes out and immediately goes for the body. He was still alive in here when I left him for dead. However, Till looks sprightlier and puts two left hands on him. Until he still supports Taylor and dumps him! Another big uppercut takes him straight to the mat and that’s a knockdown for sure.

Taylor beats the count but is hurt! Till pounces with a great combination and Taylor is on skates! Punches and Taylor falls into the ropes and that’s it!!! Darren Till wins his Misfits debut.

Official decision: Darren Till defeated. Anthony Taylor on Retirement – ​​Round 6, 1:05

After the fight: Till gives Taylor plenty of support for fighting in multiple weight classes and takes a dig at Tommy Fury. He then talks about his Misfits debut and says he believes he can do good things here. He then grabs the microphone and calls Jorge Masvidal, Mike Perry and everyone else to meet him in the ring.

Then Taylor speaks and says that he fought 20 pounds over his weight and that it didn’t go his way. He then says he’ll go “back to the drawing board” and teases a possible retirement.