Former UFC superstar Darren Till has flirted with the idea of a switch to boxing ever since he left the mixed martial arts franchise in February 2023, and now it has been officially announced that he will take on a former world champion in his very first contest in the ring.
Till was hotly tipped to be the next big thing in the UFC and after defeating Stephen Thompson in his hometown it seemed as though he was well on his way.
However, a loss to Tyron Woodley in a challenge for the UFC welterweight title, followed by four defeats in his next five fights brought the career of ‘The Gorilla’ to an early end, and he left the UFC aged just 30-years-old.
Ever since, Till has been linked to fights with Jake Paul and with Misfits Boxing, but esteemed combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani has today announced that Till will instead appear on the high-profile Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson undercard, where he will fight former WBC middleweight title-holder, Julio César Chávez Jr.
“Darren Till will make his pro boxing debut on the Jake Paul x Mike Tyson Netflix card on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.
“His opponent will be Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (53-6-1, 1 NC).
“Fight will be contested at 190 pounds. Six, three-minute rounds.”
Chavez Jr. made it past halfway of his father’s legendary 90-fight unbeaten run before losing his world title to Sergio Martinez in 2012, seeing his record fall to 46-1-1.
Since then, Chavez Jr. has struggled to re-emerge at the peak of the division, with losses to Canelo Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs showing that he was not of the level required to regain a world title.
In 2021, Chavez Jr. faced off with another former UFC fighter in Anderson ‘Spider’ Silva and surprisingly lost a split-decision against the Brazilian, who was taking part in just his third professional boxing contest.
The Mexican would fight one more time that year, outpointing David Zegarra in December, but has not returned to the ring since due to well-publicised mental health struggles.
On July 20th, Chavez Jr. will end an almost three-year spell of inactivity to face Darren Till, accompanying an undisputed super-lightweight title showdown on the undercard of the infamous Paul-Tyson bill, that will be available to watch live on Netflix.
Speculators are already suggesting that this bout could be a set-up to decide Jake Paul’s next opponent, with Till gaining credit if he beats Chavez Jr. and Chavez Jr. supposedly earning the fight by defeating Till, regardless of the fact that he already lost to Silva – who Jake Paul triumphed over in October 2022.
Still, the battle seems to be a well-matched one, with Till recognised as a strong boxer when in the UFC and Chavez Jr. clearly not the same fighter that he was when he was crowned as a world champion.
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