DARREN Tetley is on cloud nine, with the Bradford boxer gearing up for his biggest fight yet, just months after he had a brain scan to determine whether he’d ever step into the ring again.

He will be taking on fellow welterweight Ekow Essuman for the British, Commonwealth and IBF European titles in a bout that is due to take place in April, though the date and venue are yet to be officially confirmed.

The Holme Wood hero told the T&A: “This just shows how mad boxing is.

“I lost the British title eliminator to Liam Taylor in 2020, then the English welterweight title to Samuel Antwi last February.

“I had the brain scan after that and at that point, I’m thinking, ‘oh, I’m 28 now, maybe it’s time to call it a day’.

“But then this opportunity has come against Ekow, and I was never going to turn it down, especially when I found out what titles I was fighting for.”

Tetley is determined to make the most of this unexpected shot at glory, saying: “I’ve been on the bad side of boxing in my career.

“I didn’t get the recognition or opportunities I felt I deserved after winning my European title against Mason Cartwright at Elland Road in 2018, but now I’ve been given this chance when I wasn’t expecting it.

“It’ll be a hard fight, and with it being a voluntary defence, I know Ekow’s team are only bringing me down there so I can get beat and he can retain his titles.

“They’ll be thinking about whether he’s going to knock me out in the first round, or the second round, but he’s the one who’s just signed a big promotional contract, so the pressure is on him to win and perform.

“No-one will be watching me, but when I beat him, because believe me, those belts are coming back with me, then people will start to take notice of me again.

“There’s no pressure or expectation on me, because even if I did lose and get battered, people would just say they knew it was going to happen.”

And Tetley feels he has taken plenty on board from his last three fights, the aforementioned defeats to Taylor and Antwi, and his comeback points win last November against Evgenii Vazem.

The Bradfordian said: “I learnt loads getting beat in those two fights, and I know what I did wrong now.

“There were never going to be any major questions answered in November’s fight, as I was expected to win.

“But I was able to show off things I’d been working on, like my head movement and defence.

“The Antwi fight was a year ago now, so that’s given me a year to work and push on with my style and technique.

“I’ve had my setbacks since, with the scan happening, but that's all behind me now, and I feel I can really push on into this fight with confidence.

“There’s no stress for me, I don’t even have to worry about selling tickets, things like that.

“All I need to do is turn up and fight, and all I want to do is go and get the win.”