Joey Essex admits ‘boxing is in my bloodline’ as he steps into ring for Dapper Laughs struggle
Reality TV star Joey Essex might be known for his TV roles – but has now admitted he always wanted to try his hand at another career move – boxing, in the steps of his family
Joey Essex is taking to the ring
Joey Essex has admitted he attempted to manifest his dream of continuing his family career of boxing. The 36-year-old found fame through ITV’s The Only Way is Essex and had travelled the world for Channel 4’s Educating Joey Essex.
But tonight (October 10), the TV star is facing Daniel O’Reilly, aka Dapper Laughs, for his second fight. Back in August last year, Joey faced Portuguese influencer Joao Barbosa. Joey won on points and has since been hoping to get back in the ring.
He told the BBC: “My family are quite huge in boxing, it kind of stems in my blood. So kind of makes sense for me, with my name, to be involved.”
Joey Essex takes on Dapper Laughs
Donny, his father, fought more than a dozen times under the Amateur Boxing Alliance without going professional.
His uncle and trainer Tony Sims has guided big names including Anthony Joshua and Ricky Burns. Originally his uncle said Joey should never get in the ring because he was “too pretty”, but has since changed his mind.
Joey added that he had no intentions of going pro, but said: “I feel like if I didn’t ever do this, I would have always thought ‘what if?'”
The upcoming Misfits Boxing event takes place tonight (Saturday, October 10) at the Copper Box Arena in London.
The live coverage started at 6pm. Joey previously said he once wrote a fake contract in 2023 for the Misfits sports promotion company.
Now, he’s headlining a fight. Joey admitted: “Did I write that I was going to be headlining a show? No, I didn’t write that. So I’ve actually gone past my dreams.”
Joey found his fame on reality TV(Image: ©ITV)
He wants to fight the bigger names at Misfits, such as online influencers KSI, Logan Paul and boxer Tommy Fury.
“People can believe in you, but you need to believe in yourself,” he finished.
Joey Essex plans to deliver a more sensible performance tonight after his machine-gun approach on his debut last year.
On that occasion, the reality TV star went gung-ho against Numeiro with both men throwing punches to the point of exhaustion.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.
