Joey Essex wins debut boxing fight in brutal Misfits 22 scrap

Joey Essex emerged victorious in his boxing debut after a tough bout with influencer Numeiro. Essex, who was trained by his uncle Tony, the same man who guided Anthony Joshua in the early stages of his career, gained fame on The Only Way Is Essex. He also made an appearance on Love Island but has always desired to fight on the influencer boxing promotion Misfits.

After making his entrance to the ring in Manchester, accompanied by a singer and two violinists, Essex had a shaky start to the first round. However, he came alive with a right hook that connected with Numeiro's jaw.

Despite this, the Brit failed to seize the moment, stepping back and allowing his opponent to recover. Both men started the second round aggressively, but it was Essex who landed the punches, finally waking up the crowd. There was a risk, however, that he had exhausted himself as Numeiro ended the round on top.

The third round had the entire arena, including former world champion Tony Bellew, on their feet as the two men battled it out. Numeiro was given a standing count by the referee, effectively meaning he needed a knockout to win, as Essex demonstrated impressive stamina.

However, it was Essex who was given a count at the beginning of the final session as Numeiro threatened a comeback. Both men showed remarkable resilience for their novice level as they traded blows in the centre of the ring.

In the end, the fight went the distance, and after a lengthy wait, Essex was declared the winner by two of the three judges.

Earlier in the evening, Essex's former TOWIE co-star and cousin Demi Sims triumphed in her debut fight, outscoring Nadeshi Hopkins. Also on the card, Amir Anderson impressed with another knockout win, this time against Vitor Siqueira, while Carla Jade won every round to keep her lightweight title.

Rahim Pardesi put a stop to his bitter feud with Amadeusz Ferrari after a week in which the Pole's insults went too far. The bout didn't live up to its hype but Pardesi ended it in the final round, landing a right hand that sent his opponent to the canvas.

Chase DeMoor kept his heavyweight title with an unusual stoppage of Natan Marcon. Marcon had lobbed an egg at the champion during a face-off in the week, leading DeMoor to threaten to withdraw from his title defence.

However, he needed only four minutes to keep his belt when he landed an uppercut on Marcon's jaw. The referee called for the doctor to examine him and then called off the fight.

A bloodied Marcon refused to accept the decision and attacked DeMoor before being pulled away.

Tyson Fury's former sparring partner Ty Mitchell recorded the biggest victory of his career, outpointing world-ranked American Sean Hemphill over 10 rounds. Mitchell, who was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2012 for the manslaughter of a student, improves to 4-2 with his two losses occurring in 2011.