The former UFC star has made a bit of a habit of calling out big names over the years, but a clash with Neville seems very much unrealistic
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Darren Till has called for a fight with former Manchester United defender Gary Neville.
The 31-year-old Liverpudlian was quick to burst on to the scene in the UFC after signing with the MMA organisation back in 2015. He racked up wins over Donald Cerrone and Stephen Thompson before suffering the first defeat of his career against Tyron Woodley back in 2018. After that, the Brit only won once inside the Octagon – a decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum in 2019. Last year, Till decided to part ways with the UFC.
As for Neville, the former England international is widely-regarded as one of the greatest full-backs in the history of the Premier League. The 49-year-old made his senior debut for the ‘Red Devils’ back in 1992 and went on to claim several accolades at the top level. The Englishman was part of the historic United team that won the treble back in 1999 before eventually hanging up his boots in 2011.
Despite never revealing his intent to either box or step foot in the MMA cage, Neville has found himself at the heart of a callout from ‘The Gorilla’ – who claims the pair have ‘Twitter beef.’ Speaking to Norske Bettingsider, Till said when asked : Gary Neville because me and him have had a Twitter beef. He doesn’t like me. Got a little bit of beef with Gary.
“I don’t hate the guy. But yeah, it’d probably be Gary Neville or Cristiano Ronaldo, because he seems like a big, tough fellow, Cristiano. I’d like to see his speed and his power. Seems like a very explosive man. He’s obviously ripped to the gills, isn’t he? You know, he doesn’t drink Coca-Cola or anything like that. I need to take a leaf out of his book.”
After defeating Mohammad Mutie earlier this year in an exhibition bout, Till is currently preparing for his professional boxing debut against Tommy Fury next year. The clash between the pair will take place at the Co-Op Live in Manchester on Saturday, January 18.
Both men went toe-to-toe at a launch press conference earlier this month, and it’s fair to say things got a little heated. Till had threatened to kick Fury in the face if he was losing the fight. “At the end of the day, 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,” he said. “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 then hit back: “Well that’s not going to happen is it Darren. Because we ain’t in the cage now, we’re in the boxingring and you’re going to find out that boxing is very different to MMA.” However, Till continued: “Well it obviously is, how are you going to stop me? If I’m losing the fight, I’m going to kick you straight in the face. You won’t know what’s hit you.”
