Mark Tiffin predicts massive upset vs Lorawnt Nelson in bareknuckle world title fight

THERE will be one of the biggest sporting shocks of the year this weekend, according to Mark Tiffin.

The father of three from Yorkshire will challenge Lorawnt T ‘Smash’ Nelson for the world bareknuckle boxing championship on Friday night.

Nelson is the middleweight king, regarded by most as the best pound-for-pound bareknuckle boxer in the world and Tiffin reckons he can beat him.

He said: “He is world champion for a reason. He’s really good. He is really, really tough, has a great chin and engine.

“But he’s there to be hit. In every fight he gets tagged and I have enough power to stop anyone.

“You can be the best in the world, but in bareknuckle it only takes one punch and someone has to beat him – so why not me ?

“This is the fight game and anything can happen. I’m not going there to win on points. I want to get in there and get it over and done with. I can guarantee it will be a good fight and that he will have to knock me out to stop me coming.”

Tiffin says bareknuckle boxing is his medication.

“I was driving home from fishing in 2009 and a car came towards us on the wrong side of the road,” he revealed. “I swerved, crashed into a tree and my best friend died. 

“It ruined me. I was getting flashbacks.

“I was taking medication and then psychiatrists suggested I take up a sport. I had a lot of aggression and they thought I should try boxing. I started around four years ago, went into a hay bale fight and won. I thought:  ‘This is my type of medication.’

“I was aggressive, I was horrible and I wasn’t like that before (the accident). The only way to let it out was to go to the gym to spar. I felt good when I left. It sorted me out. I had no aggression left in me.  

“I never expected to get this far. I only did it for medication and here I am fighting the best in the world.”

Tiffin can be crowned the king of bareknuckle this week – and admits he never would have got this far in gloved boxing.

He said: “I get bashed up when I spar with gloves.

“This is a different sport. There are gaps everywhere in bareknuckle. I don’t think ‘Smash’ is much of a boxer, but he chops them down. I saw him take some big hits off Barrie Jones and James Connelly and then beat him. I thought: ‘He’s some boy.’ You need to have heart and power in this sport.

“It’s not like boxing where you have time and space to pick your shots. You have to fight in the clinch and you have people coming at you throwing hooks at you and there’s nowhere to go. You have to stand and fight.”