Sport

KSI reveals the names who turned him down before booking Misfits fight in Manchester

Will you be watching?

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 13th February 2025

Social media star turned musician and boxer KSI has revealed a laundry list of names he wanted to fight instead of his upcoming opponent at the latest Misfits Boxing match in Manchester.

KSI’s next bout against mixed martial artist and multiple-time jiu-jitsu world champion Dillon Danis was officially booked at the start of this month, with the fight just a little over a month and a half away.

The advent of celebrity/influencer boxing isn’t going anywhere – if anything it’s only getting more and more popular as time goes on – and the clamour for the recent Misfits franchise here in the UK is only further proof of that.

However, the promotion doesn’t have all of the pulling power it would hope to at present, as KSI revealed that he didn’t get his first choice of fighter when it came to picking an opponent – in fact, he claims Dillon Danis was actually his fifth choice overall.

As you can see in the clip above, taken from his most recent YouTube upload in which he discussed fellow celebrity boxer and influencer Jake Paul‘s potential fight against Canelo Alvarez was called off, the 31-year-old insisted that Danis was a backup.

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“You guys always say that my opponents have been terrible but how many people pull out? I don’t think you understand how many people pull out of fighting me”, he began.

“Even with this fight, I know I’m not even allowed to say it but f*** it. Dillon Danis wasn’t even my fourth choice. We went to Nate Diaz, he said no; we went to Donald Cerrone, he said no; We went to Tony Ferguson: he said no. These guys said no to me.

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“Even [Jorge] Masvidal [said no] – we went to Masvidal to fight. He can’t do it because of the UFC. Guys, we’ve been trying to find people to fight.”

Is this just some early and casual form of trash-talking from KSI? Maybe, but we know lots of these big conversations happen as proven by the younger Paul brother’s fight against Mike Tyson actually coming to fruition late last year.

tommy fury ksi rematch
There were talks for a rematch against Tommy Fury too.
dillon dancis ksi manchester
Dillon Danis during his weigh-in against Logan Paul.
KSI is set to fight Dillon Danis in Manchester next month. (Credit: The Manc Group/Ghazi Twaissi via Wikimedia Commons)

Even bringing up the discussion of a potential match-up against Darren Till following his fight against Tommy Fury falling through, he said that the Liverpool-born MMA and former Muay Thai fighter likely wouldn’t be willing to meet the ‘rehydration clause’, which essentially restricts a fighter’s weight limit.

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So, for now, Danis it will have to be.

General admission for KSI vs Dillon Danis on 29 March and will be streamed live on the DAZN app and platform – will you be tuning in at home?

You can watch his full video speaking ahead of the fight HERE and grab your tickets down below:

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Featured Images — KSI (screenshot via YouTube)/Press Shot (supplied via AO Arena)

Sport

The annual Manchester Remembers Foundation charity football match has shut down

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester Remembers charity game 2025 cancelled

The annual Manchester Remembers charity football match has been cancelled for 2025, and unfortunately, the wider Foundation has also shut down for the foreseeable.

Set up back in 2020, the Manchester Remembers charity game was created to help raise funds for the families of those lost in the tragic 2017 Manchester Arena attack, raising nearly £200,000 in donations for multiple organisations.

It has been a truly treasured community event across Greater Manchester, welcoming thousands to the likes of Manchester City Academy Stadium and Oldham Athletic‘s Boundary Park, as well as spotlighting local musicians and notable figures volunteering their help for a deeply important cause.

However, the Foundation is now set to hang up its boots. Confirming the news over the bank holiday weekend, founders Aaron Lee and Paul Corrigan shared “a difficult statement to make and a decision not taken lightly.”

As explained in the lengthy and emotional post, it is with a “heavy heart” that this year’s charity match has now been officially cancelled, and tickets already purchased up to this point are now being refunded.

Having played a small part in helping spread awareness around the game and the Foundation since it began, we were gutted to learn of this sad news.

The 2025 MCR Remembers game was scheduled to take place this June at a new venue for the event, Bury FC’s home ground at Gigg Lane, but following what they have labelled “a lack of support” from Greater Manchester leaders and “influential people needed to carry the event forward.”

Lee – a former police officer turned firefighter who was one of the emergency responders on 22 May, 2017 – went on to share a follow-up video reflecting on the announcement.

As he puts in the piece to camera, he says that even if those who had been reached out to in recent times were to suddenly respond, that it is “sadly too late.”

Taking time to thank not only past sponsors, managers, ex-pros and celebrity players who have been part of the event in the past, but everyone who bought tickets to the event(s) over the past few years, stating simply: “We cant thank you enough.”

Lee, who was given both a Chief Fire Officers Commendation and British Citizen Award in 2024, went on to address those “so-called leaders and influential people” in a subsequent post, adding: “All we needed was a bit of help. But we were ignored. Thanks for the memories.”

Unsurprisingly, the comments on social media have been awash with messages of love, support and sadness upon learning of this year’s cancellation and the end of The Manchester Remembers Foundation after more than half a decade.

There is some hope, though, as he ends the video by saying, “Who knows if this is the end or not? […] I dare say we’ll be back at some point.” We can only keep our fingers crossed he’s right and the MCR Remembers charity game won’t be shut down for good.

Manchester will always remember.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group/Manchester Remembers Foundation

Sport

25,000 free footballs are being given away across the UK

Danny Jones Danny Jones Barlcays bank giving 1000 free football across the UK

A total of 25,000 free footballs are up for grabs this month as part of a new scheme from Barclays, who are giving them away to mark a special anniversary.

The British multinational universal bank, which boasts over 850 branches and more than 48 million customers worldwide, has been supporting the beautiful game for a quarter of a century now and has been the primary Premier League sponsor since the 2001/02 season.

Approaching 25 years helping fund and promote English football, they’ve come up with a new initiative to celebrate, simply called the ‘Lost Ball Project‘.

We’ve all seen scenes like these before.

barclays free footballs
lost ball project
Credit: Barclays (supplied)

Tapping into the national and generational memory of losing a ball to a pond, up a tree, over a fence or on a roof and so on, Barclays are making up for those heartbreaking little losses – one ball at a time.

Lost Ball will see the bank give away 25k footballs across the UK, with Barclays customers able to claim a free ball for themselves or someone else who has lost theirs.

Already up and running, the scheme is off to a flyer and free footies will be available until Thursday, 22 May, so we wouldn’t wait around.

The bank has played an integral role throughout the British football pyramid for decades now, sponsoring to only the Premier League but also the WSL, Barclays Women’s Championship; the Northern Irish Women’s Football Association, Scottish Women’s Championship and the Scottish Women’s League One

They’ve even put together this emotive, albeit a bit tongue-in-cheek video:

Excellent song choice.

As they put it, the mission of the Lost Ball Project is simple: “Let’s keep the nation playing the beautiful game. Because there’s no football without grassroots football.”

In addition to backing established leagues, they have continued to support the country’s footballing community at large, especially in terms of the women’s game.

For instance, the Barclays Girls’ Football School partnership with The FA has seen the number of participating schools rise from 3,000 in 2019 to 20,000 in 2024, helping more than 2.5 million schoolgirls access football.

Important work done from the ground up.

Credit: Supplied

Barclays’ Group Head of Sponsorship, Tom Corbett, said in a statement: “We are immensely proud of our pioneering work and funding to grassroots football over the past 25 years.

Giving away 25,000 balls to replace our customers’ ‘Lost Balls’ means they will never be without the one thing you need to be able to play the game we’ve supported at Barclays for all these years.”

If you bank with the group, you can find out how to claim your free football HERE.

We quite fancy a kick around now.

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Featured Images — Barclays (supplied)

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