The Action Network has sat down with Anthony Taylor following our previous exclusive with the boxer.
We chatted with the Misfits fighter about his upcoming boxing bout against MMA fighter Darren Till, his WWE aspirations, and how Jake Paul is the next step for him.
Q: What’s the long-term goal?
AT: Once I've knocked Darren Till out, legally under the contracted boxing rules of our fight, maybe then I’ll drop a People’s Elbow on him, see if I can get the attention of the WWE and Triple H. My long-term goal here is to get to WWE.
That is my absolute ultimate goal. Once I get to WWE, I’m potentially going to leave the fighting scene alone, or I might do both. But my dream goal is to get to WWE. And that’s where I’m setting the bar. One day, I’d love to fight Logan Paul. I love what he’s doing. He had to build himself up. It wasn’t just an overnight success.
A lot of people don’t understand—he had to go through the training. I know if I go to WWE, I have to go through the developmental program. I am determined to get to WWE.
Q: Are you ruling out that this fight is going to end up being an MMA fight?
AT: It's very hard to grab on someone in boxing gloves, and when you're talking about any MMA moves, illegal moves in boxing can be heavily fined and suspended, and no one wants to be getting suspended and fined where there's big purses on the line.
You're talking about 30 to 40, 50% of your purse being taken away, especially if you're making up to $250,000, if you know what I mean. You don't want to lose that much money.
I'm competitive, he's competitive, and there is some respect because we're both warriors going into that ring, and we know what to expect from one another, and that's to be professional when it comes to boxing.
Q: Till called out your purse for being 60 grand. Can you shed some light on that?
AT: That’s definitely not true. I need people to know that that is not true. I’m making well over six figures. Just to let people know, they don’t need to know my purse, but just know—just know I’m above six digits. I want to continue buying property, long-term wealth, generational wealth—that’s what I want to accomplish.
But I need to beat Darren Till and fight Jake Paul because that is the next step after this fight.
Q: Do you think Jake Paul will fight you?
AT: Absolutely. The demand will be there. We have no bad blood between us. It's all love and friendships to the fullest. But I believe it'll be a competitive, fun fight, which the fans will get behind. Especially Misfits fans would definitely back me.
I’ve been fighting longer than anybody else in the influencing crossover scene. I’ve won against big-name opponents. I'm also Misfits’ light heavyweight champion, and I'm willing to fight at cruiserweight. It doesn’t matter what weight Jake wants to come in at. The people will say, ‘Hey, this is the best resume that Jake can fight.’
Q: Have you been given any indication that Jake’s on the table for you if you come through this fight?
AT: I really can’t say too much. I can’t say yes, but I can’t say no, because anything can happen, I’ve talked to Mams Taylor about it.
He loves the idea. He says that’s something that Misfits can get behind. If Jake and KSI don’t come to an agreement, that’s something that Misfits is willing to get behind.
Q: What gives you the edge?
AT: I'm not partying. I'm not doing drugs, smoking weed. I'm not going out there clubbing and that stuff, drinking alcohol. No, I'm taking care of my body. This is my temple. This is what I'm investing in—this right here. I'm staying focused. I don't want to be like those guys who want to party and club and be around women. No, I'm invested, mentally locked in on this fight. I'm guaranteeing the world that I'm going to win.
Why? Because my mentality is stronger than Darren Till's mentality. My mentality is going to be a lot stronger.
My will is going to be a lot stronger. I've had more experience. He might have more experience in the cage, but I have more experience in a boxing ring. You can't expect an MMA fighter, a UFC fighter, to come in and beat somebody who has that boxing experience. Look what happened when Mike Perry came to boxing with Jake Paul. He got embarrassed.
Q: Thoughts on Darren Till?
AT: Darren Till is a warrior first. And he was able to accomplish a lot of things that only 1% of the population can do—get to UFC and be successful in UFC. Yeah, he had a couple of bumps in a row, but the fact that he was able to contend for a title shot against Tyron Woodley is a feat of itself. A lot of people dream of getting to the UFC, let alone getting a title shot in the UFC.
Q: You're stepping in at late notice after Tommy Fury pulled out. Are you getting off the sofa?
AT: I've been in camp since August, because Mams Taylor was like, 'Hey, just in case, if someone does pull out in the one-night tournament, be ready.' So I was ready to go. I didn’t stop. And I thought I was going to be on the Qatar card. So I was in camp for that card as well.
That didn’t happen because Benson Henderson didn’t want to fight and Mike Perry was offered. He didn’t want to fight me. So I was already in camp, they said, 'Hey, be ready, you never know, somebody might pull out between Tommy or Darren.' I was ready. I answered the call.
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