“Something happened as I was getting my hands wrapped,” begins former Leicester and Newcastle full-back Danny Simpson. “The music was on, and something clicked. I had to go into the zone because if I didn’t, the outcome wouldn’t have been good.”
During a career spanning 213 Premier League games, a further 125 in the Championship and, most famously, the impossible 2015-16 title with the Foxes, Simpson was no stranger to performing in front of packed houses. This was different: Dublin’s 3Arena for a boxing match against YouTuber Danny Aarons.
“Standing behind the boards waiting to come out, I felt something I’d never felt before,” Simpson tells FourFourTwo. “I knew everyone would be booing me because the other Danny was the favourite. In a weird way, that helped. I’ve been an underdog my whole life – at Leicester, trying to make it at Manchester United – so it was a feeling I relished.”
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A Premier League winner's medal at stake
There was much at stake. If he lost, Aarons had pledged to hand over his one million YouTube subscribers plaque. For Simpson, it was his Premier League winner’s medal. “You’re not going to say no to any bet because then it looks like you’re weak,” says Simpson. “You’ve got to back yourself. Losing never entered my brain.” It ended in a split draw.
Simpson’s fight was organised following a random call from event hosts Misfits Boxing, co-founded by influencer KSI. Another competitor had picked up an injury and, “they said you’ve got five weeks. Can you do it?” Simpson decided he could, switching immediately into boot camp mode. Gruelling training sessions accompanied a drastic dietary shift.
“As a footballer I knew what to eat, but this was very different,” he says. “I had to cut 9kg in four weeks – that’s tough, particularly while trying to learn the skills and train twice a day. They wanted me to lose an extra 2kg, but it might have been dangerous with baths and saunas just before the fight.”
Had he ever taken a punch previously? “No, I was on a crash course learning how to box – I sparred four times and got battered in that if I’m honest,” laughs Simpson.
“But I needed it. I sparred with two great lads, and I’ve got clips of one of them absolutely leathering me! Anyone can hit pads, but once I had that first spar it got real. There were many times that I thought, ‘I can’t do this’.”
But Simpson did do it. He built up a network of friends and now attends their bouts. He wants to fight again. “It gave me something to focus on. I needed a purpose – it was the ultimate test.”
Many retired athletes will relate to those sentiments. Shortly before starting training, he announced his retirement from football on social media. Trolls inevitably leapt on the fact his last professional outing had come for Bristol City in October 2021.
“I was too scared to let it go,” admits Simpson. “I always hoped that I’d get an offer somewhere, or someone would need someone experienced to come in and help. It just never materialised. I never got to play my last official game, I never got to do that last walk out of the tunnel knowing it was my last game. That’s something I regret. But I thought if I’m going to take up another sport, I’ve got to retire from football first.”
