Mike Perry, the face of bare-knuckle boxing, is confused as to why a fight with Darren Till isn’t happening, despite Perry claiming that Till turned down over $2 million for the match.
Mike Perry? He’s not losing sleep over Darren Till. But, he’s scratching his head, wondering why that fight’s not on the cards.
Perry’s a big deal now. He’s swapped MMA for bare-knuckle boxing and is BKFC’s poster boy. He’s had back-to-back viral bouts with ex-UFC champs Luke Rockhold and Eddie Alvarez. A face-off with Till seemed like a no-brainer for his 2024 debut.
Perry and Till have been trading barbs for years, in interviews and on social media. Both out of UFC, a fight seemed inevitable. But, BKFC’s boss, David Feldman, said that even after meeting Till’s money demands, the Liverpudlian opted for a few regular boxing matches before going gloveless against Perry.
Feldman didn’t spill the beans on the fight’s price tag. Perry, however, claimed on The MMA Hour that Till turned down “over $2 million” to fight him.
Perry’s baffled. “What’s he doing?” he asked MMA Fighting. “I know they gave him a hell of an offer. Respect that you don’t care about that type of offer and you want what you want. That’s respectable.
“But that’s one thing about BKFC too — at the end of the day, screw the gloves. Test yourself for real. Up against the bone. Skin and bone, baby, that’s what’s in there. Test yourself.”
Right now, Perry’s gearing up for a fight against UFC veteran and ex-BKFC champ Thiago Alves. That’s the main event at BKFC KnuckleMania IV in LA on April 27.
Perry was cool with Alves as his opponent. He thought Till would sign on the dotted line until he heard the one-time UFC title challenger had declined the offer.
Perry insists there’s no bad blood. But he’s puzzled why Till keeps DMing him about a potential fight.
“People want that fight to happen and it may happen,” Perry said. “He’s still talking. He jumps in my DMs, he’s out drinking with his buddies and he’s like, ‘You s*** house, blah, blah, blah,’ talking s***. I’m like, it’s a brick s*** house, boy. I’m here. I’m at the arena. I’m at the fight. I’ve got an event. I’m going to get this money and you’re out here trying to make things happen. Well, stop.
“We’re slaves to the fight game, that’s what we signed up for when we became fighters. If he wanted to fight me, I think he would have had the opportunity and the chance. What? He wants to fight me with the gloves on? He wants to fight somebody else with the pads on his hands? It’s all good. I think maybe after this we can make it happen.”
Perry doesn’t underestimate Till. But he knows there’s a lot at stake for anyone who steps into a bare-knuckle fight with him, especially if they’re new to the sport. Rockhold learned that the hard way, losing a couple of teeth in his 2023 fight with Perry.
On top of that, Till left UFC on a 1-5 run, ending with three consecutive losses. A fourth loss — even in a bare-knuckle fight against Perry — wouldn’t exactly boost his confidence.
But Perry gives credit where it’s due. Till’s earned his accolades. Whether they’ll ever duke it out in the ring, though, remains to be seen.
“Darren’s a good fighter,” Perry said. “Maybe even great. He point fought [Stephen] ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson to a decision victory. It was a close fight, but he won. He had a very close fight with Robert Whittaker. I thought it could have gone either way, but it didn’t go his way. Dricus du Plessis has proven himself and become the champion, and he’s obviously some type of strong that they haven’t seen at 185. It’s nothing to hang his head on.
“Maybe he’s just too busy having fun in life, just f****** around. I’m too busy trying to get this money while I can, while I’m strong, coming into the prime of my athletic career. I’m using my time as wisely as I possibly can to set myself up better.”