Anthony Taylor was ready to step in to face Darren Till the moment Tommy Fury announced his withdrawal from Misfits Boxing 20 — in fact, Taylor had a feeling he’d be fighting Till long before that.

That’s exactly what is set to happen on Jan. 18 in Manchester, England in the main event of Misfits’ first big fight card of 2025.

“Well I look at it like this, and God has been on my side, when one door closes, another one opens,” Taylor told MMA Fighting. “I knew for a fact when Tommy pulled out, I was like, ‘All right, cool. I guess I’m going to have to step in, I’m most likely going to be the one to step in,’ and then I got the call.

“I know I’m better than Tommy and Darren Till. I know I deserve my own main event. I deserve that spot. I am the Triple H of Misfits. I am that guy. No one’s going to do what I can do in the game, but at the end of the day, I put in the work. I train hard to make this look easy. When you train hard, you put in an effort, you can’t be denied greatness, my brother. You’re going to have good days, you’re going to have bad days, but just make sure you work hard on both days.

“When Tommy Fury pulled out and I got the call from [Misfits promoter] Mams Taylor ... I was like, ‘It doesn’t matter, send the contract. What is that? It doesn’t matter, send the contract.’ I didn’t care because my first obligation is to the fans out there. Without the fans, there would not be no Anthony ‘Pretty Boy’ Taylor. Without the fans, there won’t be no Misfits Boxing. I put the fans first before that paycheck — and don’t get me wrong, it’s currency over legacy [every] freaking day of the week. That’s how I run my model, currency over legacy, baby, but I put fans first because they’re the one who’s spending their hard-earned money to watch us fight and put our life on the line.”

Fury said that the reason he withdrew from the fight with Till was due to the one-time UFC title challenger suggesting he would implement MMA tactics — kicks and takedowns — in the fight.

Taylor believes this was a negotiation tactic from Fury — the half-brother of former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury — in an attempt to get more money, and Misfits called his bluff.

“When you’re talking about Tommy and Tyson, two completely different people,” Taylor explained. “Tyson [says], let’s fight, let’s [do] bare knuckle, whatever, I’m a fighting gypsy. That’s Charmin. That’s expensive toilet paper right there. But when you talk about Tommy? ‘Oh, he’s going to kick me,’ that’s cheap toilet tissue that you buy at the $0.99 store — the one time it wipes, it scrapes the skin off your asshole.

“Tyson’s Charmin, [Tommy Fury is] cheap toilet paper. When you look at those guys... Tommy and Tyson, I guarantee it’s good to bet your money on Tyson because Tyson is going to show up and fight. And if you throw a kick, he’s going to kick you back. If you throw a punch, bare-knuckle or elbow, Tyson’s going to do the same back. We have to understand that Tommy is not a real fighter. He’s not, he doesn’t dedicate... I don’t want to say he’s not a real fighter, because he is, [but he doesn’t dedicate his life to boxing, to fighting. ...

“He’s all about entertaining. Did he kick my ass the first fight? Absolutely, I acknowledge it. That was my [second] boxing match ever. I didn’t know what I was doing in there, but fair play to Tommy. But at the end of the day, Tommy is not dedicated to the way I am. I live this, this is my paycheck. Like I said, currency over legacy. Tommy is not dedicated to the sport and the craft of the sweet science of boxing, but Tyson is, and that’s why you see Tyson the man on this type of money, and everybody’s like, ‘What are you doing, Tommy?’”

Taylor enters the fight on a five-fight win streak, including a recent knockout win over Gabriel Silva, the son of UFC legend Anderson Silva in August at Misfits Boxing 17.

Till makes his second appearance in boxing since parting ways with the UFC following a stoppage loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 282 in December 2022. “The Gorilla” competed at Social Knockout 3 in July, winning via second-round TKO before a near-melee broke out.

Taylor thought Till’s performance was “terrible,” but he understood that was Till’s boxing debut. When they meet, the fight takes place at 195 pounds across eight rounds, which is music to Taylor’s ears.

“I love the eight rounds, I get to drown him,” Taylor said. “I get to torture him for eight sick rounds. I want to make this a sick fight, like, I want to be all over him, I want him to be so uncomfortable in there with me, like, yo, want him to quit on the stool. I think he’ll quit on the stool probably in the second round. ...

“But Darren Till is a game opponent. I have to be mindful, he’s an MMA fighter first, so he’s down to scrap. He’s down for a good fight. He’s not going to go out and make an excuse. He’s ready to fight knowing that he comes from the MMA background because you have to be mentally tough to go in that cage. So, I’m not taking that from Darren. Darren is a big, taller opponent than me, but I just know my ability, what I can do. I’m not worried about what Darren is going to do in that ring. I’m worried about what I’m going to do in that ring.

“I don’t care what he’s good at, what can he execute. I’m worried about, and my coaches are just worried about, what is Anthony going to do? How is he going to execute his moves, how are we going to follow the game plan to the tee, stick to it? That’s what I’m worried about. I don’t care about what Darren got going on, but I respect Darren since he is a fellow MMA fighter as myself because I know he’s game and he’s ready to fight.”