Fury vs Till Odds: Ex-UFC star ‘The Gorilla’ opens as the underdog

Tommy Fury takes on former UFC star Darren Till at the Manchester AO Arena on January 18. The crossover fight headlines the latest quasi-boxing offering from Misfits, which will be screened live on DAZN as part of the MF & DAZN: Series X 20 event.

Read on for early odds ahead of the much-talked about encounter.

The usually-media savvy Misfits might have misread the mood when they announced this bout. 58-year-old Mike Tyson had just been humiliated by skill-devoid influencer Jake Paul two days prior to the reveal. The appetite for celebrity boxing was at a low ebb when Fury-Till entered the discourse.

There are both similarities and differences to that fiasco in this event. Fury has fought Jake as well as his fellow YouTuber KSI. Once a novice pro, ‘TNT’ has pivoted to celebrity matches since his Love Island fame outstripped his pugilistic notoriety.

Till is also an athlete who has lost his last three fights, echoing Tyson’s poor form heading into the Paul bout. Obviously the advantage is that Till’s last UFC defeat was only two years ago, not 19 like Tyson’s crumbling against Kevin McBride.

In fact, Till could actually argue he has the makings of a win streak. The Liverpudlian technically won a bizarre boxing exhibition this summer. The fight against influencer Mohammad Mutie was the YouTube boxing phenomenon in microcosm.

Till landed a punch behind the head in a clinch. It appeared to be a glancing blow but Mutie said he could not continue. He looked far more sprightly after the fight though as he took Till down and the pair had to be separated in a chaotic brawl. As with most of these exhibitions, the madness overtook any boxing merit.

But Tommy Fury is accustomed to this world. Perhaps to capitalise his fame, or maybe because he could sense the glass ceiling above him, Fury has made a home for himself in celebrity boxing. It is a smart move. ‘TNT’ is more schooled than those he is fighting, but has the reality television fame to garner huge interest.

In pure skill terms, Fury sits atop the celebrity boxing tree. He is the only man to have beaten the cottage industries two biggest names: Jake Paul and KSI. The fact the former had him on the deck is probably all the evidence you need of why Fury has not parlayed his profile into a real run at the pros.

So where does Till sit in all this? It is hard to tell. The Mutie fight was a mockery. In his own sport, Till was on the slide by the end of his UFC tenure. But ‘The Gorilla’ has been targeting a boxing career for a while. He has been training at the legendary Rotunda ABC in Liverpool and was set to fight former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr on the original Paul-Tyson card before the event was postponed due to ‘Iron’ Mike’s stomach ulcer.

Much has been made of Till’s appearance at the press conference for this fight. The 31-year-old did not look in fighting shape and was mocked in some quarters. But the ex-MMA fighter will have a full camp and should not be judged on that first glimpse. 

However, at this stage, it is hard to see how Till can build the technical skill required to beat Fury. The Love Islander is basic but solid enough to keep a non-pro at bay. He has shown that against Paul and KSI. But ‘The Problem Child’ did show Fury could be knocked down even by a non-boxer. Perhaps if Till finds that lucky punch he can open this fight right up.

Fury opens as a 2/7 favourite though and it is easy to see why. The Manchester man has a better grounding in boxing than Till. ‘The Gorilla’ is an 11/4 underdog for the same reason. While he enjoyed an excellent UFC career, we really don’t know what he has as a boxer. The Mutie fight did little to answer any of those questions.

If you fancy a stalemate in Manchester, you can back the draw at 12/1.

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