Darren Till has a clear message for any MMA fighter who thinks their striking background translates seamlessly into boxing: it does not.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show on Tuesday, Till was direct about the gulf between the two sports, drawing on his own experience transitioning from MMA to the squared circle and the eye-opening realization of what genuine boxing skill actually looks like up close.
“The thing with boxing anyways — you need to understand this, right? — all of us MMA fighters, right, if we switch over, we go, ‘Well, I’ve done boxing,'” Till said. “No you haven’t. You’ve done boxing for MMA. What does that mean? You’ve been in a wide stance, you don’t throw close-quarters shots. MMA and boxing are two completely different sports. They’re altogether — the movements, the head movement, the way you move, the way you step — it’s just so far away from MMA.”
Till made his boxing debut against Luke Rockhold last August and announced on Tuesday that he will compete in BKFC against Aaron Chalmers on May 30 in Birmingham, England. Despite building a modest boxing resume, he is under no illusions about how far the discipline extends beyond what MMA prepares fighters for.
He also addressed the question of whether UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, his British countryman, could succeed in boxing if he chose to make the move. Till acknowledged Aspinall’s striking ability while being honest about the ceiling.
“I’ve seen Tom, but I’ve only seen Tom box for MMA. Can Tom box? Yeah. Will he be world heavyweight champion? Probably not. But if he makes a lot of money, who gives a f***?” Till said. He added that anyone making the transition would need to start from scratch on the fundamentals. “You’ve got to start from the basics — the footwork, to how you use your jab, to how you work inside and stuff like that.”
The history of MMA fighters crossing over to boxing backs up Till’s assessment. Nate Diaz lost his boxing debut to Jake Paul. Anderson Silva edged a faded Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. before losing to Paul himself. Conor McGregor was comprehensively outclassed by a 40-year-old Floyd Mayweather. Francis Ngannou had his moments against Tyson Fury before being stopped by Anthony Joshua in their second meeting.
Till fought in the UFC from 2015 to 2023 and holds a career MMA record of 18-5-1. His BKFC debut against Chalmers takes place May 30 in Birmingham.
