Joey Essex returned to the boxing ring tonight and defeated Dapper Laughs in the main event of the latest Misfits Boxing card. The reality TV star, who outpointed Numeiro last year, faced comedian Daniel O'Reilly, also known as Dapper Laughs, in the headline bout.
Essex vs Dapper Laughs
Essex, who took a break from the sport after his win over Numeiro, was back in action against the controversial funny man. Dapper Laughs, whose real name is Daniel O'Reilly, was fighting for the first time in three years. His previous bout in 2023 was waved off inside the opening seconds against Simple Simon.
Before the fight, Essex said: "I want to shut people up. I've been training smarter and I want to box smarter. I want to be a bit more smarter; everyone thinks Joey is stupid but you're going to see I'm more than a pretty face. I'm a lot smarter than you think. I'm not underestimating Mr. O'Reilly, but I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to box smart. You're going to see the smart version of Joey Essex and it's a dangerous one."
Dapper Laughs said: "I've had to lose a stone and a half for this and we've been sparring really hard. I think you're in for quite an electric fight because I know he takes this seriously and he wants to put on a show. They're trying to make him the poster boy of Misfits but I know how to box."
Undercard Highlights
On the undercard, heavyweight Big Stacks, who calls himself the UK's Hardest Man, returned for his third fight of the year. He was originally scheduled to face Apprentice star Thomas Skinner, but Skinner pulled out and was replaced by former West Ham defender James Collins. Big Stacks won the bout.
In the first fight of the night, Carla Jade retained her lightweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Erika Night. The judges scored the bout 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 in favour of Jade, though Night appeared to land the better shots without carrying the power to seriously trouble the champion.
Fight Times and How to Watch
Joey Essex and Dapper Laughs were scheduled to walk to the ring at around 9.20pm, with the first fight of the night starting at around 6.30pm. The eight-fight card was expected to finish at a reasonable hour, though all times were subject to change depending on how long the undercard took.
The event was shown live and exclusively on DAZN. The fights were included free for existing subscribers, with new subscribers able to join for £9.99 per month in a limited-time deal.
