As Darren Till prepares for his boxing match against Darren Stewart at Misfits Boxing 21 on Friday, the former UFC title challenger is keeping a close eye on potential future opponents, including Jake Paul with his next fight booked with Julio Caesar Chavez Jr. in June.
While it’s easy to say that just about everybody seems interested in a fight against Paul thanks to the star power and financial reward he presents to all of his opponents, Till actually has a slightly different reason because he was actually supposed to face Chavez back in 2024. The fight between Till and Chavez was scheduled for the same Netflix card where Paul was facing off with Mike Tyson, but the heavyweight great suffered an illness that delayed the event.
Till’s fight against Chavez didn’t get rescheduled but now it’s Paul taking on that challenge, and the one-time UFC title challenger admits he’s torn on picking a winner.
“Chavez should beat him but I don’t know,” Till told MMA Fighting. “Jake just keeps winning so is Jake that good? Like we all keep saying he’s shit.
“I can’t even give an opinion. Chavez should probably win, but I don’t know. Jake’s going to win. There’s something going on in the background that we all don’t know about.”
Through 12 professional fights, Paul has only faced four opponents with any real boxing experience with most of his wins coming against MMA fighters like Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva, or Nate Diaz. His only loss came in a razor-close decision to Tommy Fury — another fighter Till was previously scheduled to face until the reality star and half-brother to heavyweight great Tyson Fury cancelled the bout over concerns that he might get hit with some MMA moves in a boxing match.
Outside of beating a 58-year-old Tyson this past November, Chavez represents the most experienced opponent that Paul has ever faced. But regardless of the outcome in that fight, Till admits he’s getting rather annoyed at the tired criticisms that always get launched at Paul about his fighting career.
“For starters, let’s all just stop being dummies for a second and take out the narrative that Jake Paul’s not a fighter or a boxer,” Till said. “He’s been boxing for years now. He’s been boxing for years with a fully equipped team around him 24/7.
“Jake Paul is a fighter. He’s a boxer. He’s a fighter. OK, yeah, he’s lacking in this or that, does he like getting hit? Maybe whatever, but he’s a f*cking fighter. So this narrative needs to go away.”
Till believes part of the reason that insult gets constantly thrown at Paul comes down to potential opponents getting thirsty for his attention.
In an attempt to goad Paul into a fight, the path of least resistance is claiming that he’s not a real fighter and he’d be easy work in the ring. Till knows better than to underestimate Paul, which is why he’s definitely interested in the fight himself but don’t expect him to travel that same boring route in an attempt to land the matchup.
“Look I get it, you fight Jake Paul you get a lot of money,” Till said. “You are begging, everyone’s just begging for this fight. I’ve said yeah, I’d love to fight Jake Paul, but I’m not begging him. Jake doesn’t want to fight me, trust me, I’m good. Trust me, I’m all right.
“Love to fight him, love to make a bit of money, yeah that’s sound but I don’t lose sleep like all these guys are begging for it. I’m whatever. He’s f*cking winning so what do you want?”
For all the name value that Till brings into his fights, he understands that he’d take second billing to Paul and that’s completely OK with him.
In fact, Till concedes almost every possible merit when it comes to comparing himself to Paul except when they actually set foot in a ring together.
“If I’m fighting Jake Paul, I’m not going to sit there and have a c*ck off like who’s got more money?” Till said with a laugh. “Jake Paul’s got more money than me! I’m not going to be like ‘I’m the ‘A’ side.’ Jake Paul’s the ‘A’ side. He wins in every department. The only department I know I win is in the fight. I’m all right with that. That’s sound.
“If he wants to sit there and say whatever, with all these other guys they bite. If Jake Paul sat there with me and was like ‘I want to make a bet.” I’d be like, Jake, I’m going to stop you there my friend, I can’t make bets with you, because I don’t have the money you have. So take your bet, take your money and shove it up your ass. I’m a realist. It’s like me sitting there with Conor McGregor and having a c*ck off with him. Who’s got the most money? I’m not really asked who’s got more money. I’ll just punch all your heads in, how about that?”
If Till gets through Stewart on Friday when they clash on the Misfits boxing card airing on DAZN, he might have a callout ready but don’t expect him to get down on his knees hoping to get Paul’s attention.
“Jake Paul’s the ‘A’ side,” Till said. “Would love to fight him. Would love that fight. If I don’t get that fight, so f*cking what? I’m not really that [bothered] to be honest with you.”
