Darren Till’s first words after Tommy Fury showed his ‘true colours’ after pulling out of January 18 showdown… as ex-UFC star calls out new opponent

Darren Till believes Tommy Fury has shown his ‘true colours’ as a coward after pulling out of their fight next month – and has called out Jake Paul to lock horns in Manchester.

Fury ditched the showdown, which was scheduled for January 18 at the Co-op Live Arena, after Till threatened to kick him in the head if he was losing in a promotional event last month. 

Till, a former UFC fighter, insists his threats were simply showmanship to boost intrigue and revenue and issued a staunch defence of his integrity in the ring.  

‘I have always abided by the rules of fighting my whole life. I was building the fight with Tommy and saying things (that) I knew he would s*** himself from cos I know deep down he’s not a real fighting man,’ Till said on X. 

‘And now it’s come to fruition, what I have said is true. He has pulled out and shown his true colours. See you all January 18th cos no matter what I’ll be there as I have always been. I always show up and always will for the fans whether you like me or not. ‘Someone find John Fury for me cos he’s not answering the phone – probably butting young coaches again or punching glass.’

Till, 31 and from Liverpool, was fuming that Fury had taken his words as a serious threat. He says the former Love Island flame had been penned in to earn more money from the bust-up as the ‘A-side’ of the event, but bragged that he was the one getting bums off seats. 

He added: ‘I was selling the fight to make me and you more money you absolute empty head fighting family my a** you and ur dad s**thouses.

‘I don’t need to throw kicks you was getting knocked spark out you divvy we was making bank on this fight cos of me not you,’ he said. 

He went on to call out Paul, who recently beat Mike Tyson, 58, in a professionally sanctioned bout but lost to Fury via split decision last year. 

‘I was building it you should be fighting and should be thanking me. Over and out… no one wants to fight me… Jake Paul what are you up to you big fat dummy?’ 

Despite Till’s protestations, it is easy to see how Fury took his words seriously. Their press conference last month was heated. 

‘At the end of the day, (if) I can’t beat you, I’ll just kick you in the face in there,’ Till said. 

‘How about that? I’m a proper fighter, not a boxer. I don’t walk in a room like this and see boxing and go, “s***.” I walk in, no one here is a threat to me. Not one person in this room, security, you, your dad are not a threat to me. 

‘I’m an MMA fighter, so if I want to kick you or elbow you in the face, I will, and no one can do anything about it.’

Fury was unwilling to enter the ring with a man who he deems to be a maverick.

‘For the one simple reason being that Darren has stated over and over that he does not want to abide by professional boxing rules and that if he is loosing the fight he will resort to kicking and other stupid MMA tactics.

‘I am a professional boxer, I have been out of the ring for over a year and I wanted this to be a great BOXING fight for the fans. I have wasted weeks in training camp. We are working hard to get a new opponent and date. I promise to get a better opponent and better fight for you guys. Good news around the corner.’

Paul is yet to respond to Till’s call-up, but he did find Fury’s abandonment of the fight amusing, simply writing ‘hahahaha’ on X. 

At an explosive press conference last month, tempers flared between the Fury and Till camps.

Fury’s father John was also seen throwing water in the direction of the former UFC fighter. 

However, it was thrown to limited effect, with Fury left soaked by his father. The move did still incensed Till who was seen attempting to charge towards the 59-year-old.

The Liverpudlian was held back by security guards, with John showing no signs of backing down as he looked to confront his son’s opponent after taking his jacket off.

Till then appeared to continue their clash on social media after publishing John Fury’s phone number. The 31-year-old posted a mobile phone number to his followers on X, formerly Twitter, adding the message ‘Thanks John Fury’.

Till ultimately deleted his post which had been viewed over 10,000 times, but fans were quick to respond and questioned the validity of the number.

His social media post had come a day after he pledged to ‘terrorise him [John Fury] and his whole family’ in the build-up to his fight with Tommy on January 18.