Three years in the past, Joey Essex tried to manifest his dream of persevering with his household boxing heritage by writing his own do-it-yourself contract.
The 36-year-old had already discovered fame through ITV’s The Only Way is Essex and had travelled the world for Channel 4’s Educating Joey Essex.
But climbing into the ring was the new ambition, which he fulfilled in August 2025 when he fought Portuguese influencer Joao Barbosa.
Essex returns to screens when he faces comic Daniel O’Reilly, aka Dapper Laughs, on Saturday night for his second struggle.
Essex, from Chigwell, dreamt of becoming a member of the Misfits sports activities promotion company when he wrote himself the contract one morning in 2023.
“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,” he instructed 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.”
Donny, his father, fought more than a dozen occasions under the Amateur Boxing Alliance without going skilled.
Meanwhile, his uncle and coach Tony Sims has guided large names including Anthony Joshua and Ricky Burns.
Sims initially instructed Essex he “should never be a boxer” because he was “too pretty”, but his nephew has become his newest project at his health club in Stapleford Abbotts.
Essex insisted he was not attempting to flip skilled, but added: “I feel like if I didn’t ever do this, I would have always thought ‘what if?'”
Joey Essex beat Joao Barbosa, recognized as Numeiro, on factors in August 2025 [Getty Images]
Essex beat Barbosa, also recognized as Numeiro, by a factors resolution, but described the contest as “a slugfest”.
He hopes Saturday night in Bermondsey, south London, will be a higher spectacle.
“Let’s hope there’s actually some boxing involved,” he said.
He needs to struggle the larger 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 completed.
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