IT’S been a hectic 48 hours for Bradford boxer Darren Tetley.

The Holme Wood star’s long-awaited ring return this Saturday looked to have collapsed over the weekend, with opponent Jake James pulling out at the death following a medical enquiry from the British Boxing Board.

Tetley hasn’t fought since his points defeat to Dom Hunt back in September last year – where he also suffered a hand injury – which was eventually confirmed as a sagittal band rupture.

After recovering from injury and seeing through a gruelling training camp, Tetley was determined to fight on at the University of Bolton Stadium this coming Saturday, so he was overjoyed to hear that his manager Mick Marsden had found a replacement opponent for him yesterday morning.

Reflecting on the events of the past two days, Tetley said: “It’s been extremely stressful for me; mentally wise it’s been very tough. I was at work on Saturday morning, and I got a phone call from my manager to tell me that the fight was off; of course, I felt bad, but I threw my toys out of the pram.

“In this camp I’ve done everything spot on whether it’s dieting, making weight or putting every bit of effort into each session; so, to have that blow up in your face is an awful feeling. Everything felt perfect.”

Tetley added: “I was on my phone to my manager straight away to beg him to do everything he could to find me a fight on the same card. Luckily, although this new fight will be four rounds instead of ten, he found me that fight and it still makes all that hard work worthwhile.”

In January Tetley flirted with the idea of retirement following his frustrations at the end of 2022, but a change in mindset saw the Bradford fighter face his demons ahead of a ring return.

After having his “best” training camp yet ahead of fight night in Bolton this Saturday, the frustration of a cancelled bout could well have been the tipping point for Tetley.

He said: “This camp has been everything I’d hoped for and more. I could have easily retired at the start of the year, but I knew I had plenty more to give to this sport.

“Coming into this camp was about rediscovering my love for boxing, working my confidence back and tightening up on a few things here and there. For me, this camp has been the best of my career, without a doubt.

“Everything has worked well; my sparring has been good and my love for the sport has returned. I’ve put every inch of effort into this camp, so it would have been a massive kick in the teeth to have this opportunity taken away from me.

“That’s not the case now and although I may be fighting a slightly lesser opponent (Richard Helm – 1-17-1), I’ll still get to go out there and work on the things I’ve been working on in camp. This fight should allow me to get straight back into camp as well ahead of the shortest turnaround in my career, with a potential fight in July on the cards.”