DAN MORLEY – British boxing’s biggest social media star – is back with a bang.
The 28-year-old Epsom welterweight posted a modest 8-0 record on the small-runner circuit between 2018 and 2022 with little fanfare.
11
11
11
And his disillusionment with the frustrating sport, combined with the Covid pandemic that paralyzed him, left him on the sidelines for two years and bedridden at his mother’s house.
Around that time, though, the self-taught video genius began creating brilliant boxing clips and biographies of some of the greatest boxers in history.
This garnered followers and friendships from stars like Sugar Ray Leonard, Carl Froch, and even Jackass legend Johnny Knoxville and music legend Snoop Dogg.
Morley’s TikTok and Instagram accounts have grown to more than 500,000 followers and he has been invited to teach the sport he loves at idyllic hotels in Switzerland and the Maldives
And on July 6th, the newly empowered puncher earned his return with a nice body shot in the opening round and he already has another September date locked in, while promoters who previously ignored him now pursue his signature.
The businessman spoke to SunSport to explain his rapid rise from obscurity from the barber’s chair to his mother’s sickbed and some star-studded profiles.
“I started during Covid when my barber told me to open a TikTok account,” he told SunSport.
“I couldn’t be surprised by it at first, but then I started doing some things about myself and my training, but those things didn’t stand out and nothing happened.
BEST UK BOOKMAKER FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERSs
11
11
11
“But then I got Covid and I was in bed at my mother’s house and I asked her if she thought people would be interested in Cuban boxing.
“She said ‘probably not’ but I did it anyway and it got like 250,000 views and then TikTok grew.
11
11
“Since then some crazy things have happened, like a friendship with Johnny Knoxville, which is crazy, Sugar Ray Leonard follows the account and Carl Froch sent me messages. It’s amazing and a huge confidence booster.
“When I started boxing, these big names weren’t paying attention and now they are, from my knowledge of boxing.”
Too many boxing promoters and broadcasters have flocked to the world of social media influencers at the start of the digital craze and we have seen some downright dark acts and “fights”.
Fortunately, the sport now appears to be moving away from the fame-desperate circus act it helped kick off around 2018, when Watford showman KSI danced with American artist Logan Paul in Manchester.
But it does mean that a genuine fighter and boxing fan like Morley has been cautious about using the platforms to increase his well-deserved popularity.
11
He explained: “I was cautious because it’s not my nature to sell out or put on a show.
“I had a plan to gain followers, but I had to do it the right way, which would benefit me but also help people.
“I’m not very good with phones, my friends get nervous when it takes me two days to respond to a message.
“I’m not good at technology, but I taught myself all this and learned how to edit up to four good videos a day.
“I had to learn how to cut things, probably merge things, but also learn not to copy anyone’s images.
“In my 18 months away I’ve made over 2,000 posts so I’ve put in the work and hope I’ve earned the following.”
11
Morley’s accounts are must-read content for fellow boxing nerds, sports fans, and even history buffs.
And he hopes the modern tools at his disposal will help him teach Gen Z about the incredible, criminally underrated men who paved the way for the shiny, glamorous version of the sport we see today.
“I read every book I could find and I’m a real nerd about it,” he laughed.
“I want people to know that Harry Greb lost ONCE in 100 fights and went 45-0 in one year – all while being BLIND in one eye.
“Some of these feats are so incredible.
“Henry Armstrong won 59 of 61 fights in three years – in SEVEN weight classes.
“People praise Floyd Mayweather and Mike Tyson – and rightly so because they are incredible fighters – but mistakenly it seems like people think they are the only boxers who ever lived on Earth.”
I was cautious because it’s not in my nature to sell out or make a spectacle of myself.
Dan Morley
Morley now has a following that some British world champions would be proud of – or even make their PR people pay for.
The boxing media pioneer has ideas for podcasts and books and has been wisely used by Wasserman to present some of his Channel 5 shows.
So why the hell is he back in the gym, punishing himself and starving himself, training hundreds of unpaid rounds and risking his life?
“I love boxing,” he said. “I took a break and it told me how much I love it.
“I have goals I want to achieve, the social media stuff is really good, but I haven’t reached my potential.
“I’ve built my social media in a way that allows me to do this out of passion, it doesn’t feel like a weird way of doing things.
“I have the following I needed and now I love it.”
MORLEY AND THE MALDIVES
By Kealan Hughes
The BRIT boxer bumped into former England rugby stars Jason Robinson and Ben Cohen, as well as fitness guru Joe Wicks.
Morley even trained members of the Qatari royal family and then-15-year-old Millie Bobby Brown from Stranger Things on the island of Huvafen Fushi in the Maldives, where he stayed in hotel rooms costing £60,000 a night.
The time away from the spotlight gave Morley a much-needed break both physically and mentally and he has reclaimed his love for boxing, sharing his knowledge first-hand and online.
He quickly began building his fan base and now has 400,000 fans across his social media platforms, including Snoop Dogg, Sugar Ray Leonard and Johnny Knoxville, who have recently appeared on his podcast.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
