Darren Till vs Anthony Taylor Prediction: ‘Gorilla’ goes from underdog to favourite

Former UFC star Darren Till faces Anthony Taylor in a boxing match on Saturday, January 18 at the Co-Op Arena in Manchester. The bout takes place as part of MF & DAZN Series X 20, the latest offering from Misfits Boxing. The bout takes place at cruiserweight, meaning that Taylor’s Misfits Light Heavyweight belt will not be on the line.

Here are my Till vs Taylor predictions ahead of this crossover event.

Till was initially set to take on Tommy Fury in his Misfits Boxing debut. But the Manchester fighter pulled out of the bout. ‘TNT’ cited the fact Till had threatened to throw MMA kicks if he was behind on the scorecards as the reason. Till has disputed the validity of these safety fears. 

The world of Misfits is often defined by smoke and mirrors. If Tommy hops in the ring after this fight and calls out Till, we’ll know there was something else at play. If not, then perhaps his worry that the ex-UFC man would forget where he was and go full Bloodsport can be viewed as valid. 

Putting Fury’s fears for his safety aside, Till now goes in with someone well-established in the Misfits canon. Anthony Taylor might be known as a Premier League referee to the mainstream world, but this very different man holding the same moniker can fight.

It’s all relative, of course. But through Bellator MMA and a brief pro boxing career, Taylor has done okay. He is 3-3 as a pro boxer, but is on a four-fight winning streak in the Misfits game, which doesn’t usually count towards pro records.

The problem here is that Taylor is a big deal in the Misfits bubble, but barely-known outside of it. Fury had hometown advantage, a wealth of fame from Love Island, wins over Jake Paul and KSI and his famous surname. This fight was always going to struggle to live up to what was promised before. It was a circus, sure, but a rather intriguing one at least.

The fascination here comes from how Till will adapt to the boxing game. He has just one exhibition fight on his record, a win over ‘The Palestinian Gorilla’ Mohammad Mutie that devolved into a post-fight brawl. Not the most auspicious start to a boxing career.

But Till has been in good hands, working away at the legendary Rotunda ABC in Liverpool. The Merseyside mecca of boxing counts Tony Bellew, Natasha Jonas and the Smith brothers among the many to walk through its doors. Say what you will about Till’s move from MMA into boxing, but he is getting the right coaching. 

The misgivings people have about Till’s continued combat career largely centre on how his UFC stint finished. ‘The Gorilla’ lost five of his last six outings in the Octagon, including three on the spin. After losing to then-UFC Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, himself a future influencer boxer, Till never quite recaptured the spark that had made him a top contender.

At the age of 32, there are probably a couple of years of Till’s athletic peak remaining. It would appear he no longer has the quality to challenge at the very top of MMA. But the crossover boxing world is a lucrative place for the legends of the UFC. There is a reason Till’s old rival Woodley has fought Jake Paul in a pair of boxing outings. 

Till needs to make some serious noise in this fight. He has been thrust into the A-side position without the safety net of facing insurmountable odds. Nobody realistically expected him to beat Fury, a 10-0 pro boxer. But Taylor is a fellow former MMA star. The American has more experience in this crossover world, but he is less accomplished than Fury.

Is Till in a no-win situation? A loss to Fury would have been easier to explain than one to Taylor, after all. Equally, the Liverpudlian arguably has a better chance in this bout than the one originally signed. One thing is for certain. A win is almost a necessity if this boxing dalliance is to become a true second career for ‘The Gorilla’.

Till vs Taylor Fight Odds

Till was the underdog when Fury was set to be in the opposite corner. But now the UFC star is the short-price, available at 1/2 here. Taylor is 7/4, good odds for a fighter that knows this world better than his opponent. The draw is priced at 12/1.

Till vs Taylor Full Card

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Till vs Taylor Prediction

This is a close one. Taylor knows his way around the Misfits ring, but Till has competed at a higher level if you take the entirety of combat sports into the equation.

Till has had good schooling in boxing, but Taylor has the advantage in terms of ring time. However, I don’t think Misfits would be putting one of their bigger draws in to lose. For that reason I’m going to back Till to win on his company debut at 1/2.

You can find all our latest boxing betting tips and analysis at our Betfred Insights Boxing page and our latest boxing odds here.