Six years after he closed the chapter in soccer that saw him represent Wales and a string of clubs, including the two stints at West Ham United, James “Ginge” Collins is set to enter a new era in his work life. Only, instead of his feet, he will be relying on his fists.
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The 43-year-old former center back from Newport, Wales, is set to make his boxing debut on October 10. A face-off with actor Charlie “Big Stacks” Cox will see him open the Misfits Boxing card headlined by a bout between TV personality Joey Essex and comedian Daniel O’Reilly, aka Dapper Laughs.
“Big Stacks finds his biggest challenge yet in former Welsh Footballer, James ‘Ginge’ Collins 🥊,” read the Instagram post from Misfits Boxing. A huge card unravels in London on October 10. 🇬🇧 You aren’t going to want to miss this one. ☝️ See you there. 🤝”
The development comes after Big Stacks’ previously booked opponent, Tom Skinner, the businessman who became famous for his appearance on The Apprentice, withdrew from the event. The reasons remain undisclosed.
For Collins, it’s a completely new development.
The 6’2″ tall player comes in with an impressive soccer resume. After playing for the Welsh youth teams, he made his debut with the senior team in 2004. He subsequently made 51 appearances for Wales before announcing his retirement from international soccer in 2017.
His club-level career continued, with Collins becoming widely recognized for his time at West Ham United. After spending four years with Cardiff City, he joined the Stratford-based club in 2005.
He played until 2009 before leaving for Aston Villa, where he made 108 appearances, scoring 6 goals. In 2012, he returned to West Ham United and stayed until 2018. During those six years, he played in 149 matches and scored 7 goals. Collins’ last appearance was with Ipswich Town. After 6 appearances, he finally called it a career in 2020.
Reports reveal Collins to be quite popular with the crowd. Misfits Boxing, which now occupies a niche space in the crossover and influencer boxing landscape, seems to have found another fan favorite for its cards.
Not that Collins is the first player to trade soccer cleats for boxing gloves.
From goals to gloves: Soccer stars take the Misfits test
In August 2024, former Leicester City and Manchester United defender Danny Simpson made history as the first former professional soccer player to compete at a Misfits event. Headlining the MF & DAZN X Series 17 event at Dublin’s 3 Arena, he faced YouTuber Danny Aarons.
Adding to the soccer-boxing crossover, last weekend’s Misfits event initially featured soccer player-turned-fighter Kenzo Biyong. Making his boxing debut, the Dutchman, who previously made his fighting debut against Raphael Ferreira at UFC BJJ 7 this past April, was supposed to face UFC legend and former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson.
However, the bout, scheduled on September 26 in Miami’s James L. Knight Center, was cancelled after Biyong could not travel because of complications related to his travel.
Wayne Rooney’s and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s names have also been linked to potential Misfits appearances.
Rooney had reportedly discussed boxing opportunities with KSI and promoter Eddie Hearn, who recounted the contact, although no Misfits fights have been confirmed. Meanwhile, Ibrahimov also appears to have held an exploratory talk with Misfits Boxing co-president Mams Taylor. However, as with Rooney, no bout has been announced.
Misfits is known for staging over-the-top events that focus heavily on spectacle and hype. One particular episode, however, drew considerable attention because it involved former England international Wayne Bridge and KSI.
The duo were reportedly scheduled to fight. But ahead of the bout, tension escalated when KSI brought up Bridge’s highly publicized personal history involving his former partner.
Bridge subsequently withdrew from the scheduled fight, objecting to the personal nature of the promotional remarks and citing concerns about their impact on his family.
Taken together, Misfits continues with its goal of giving figures who made their names in other fields a chance to lace up and show what they can do in the ring.
For his part, James Collins looks excited about the new opportunity. “So, this is happening,” he wrote in an Instagram story. “Would love it West Ham heavy in there on the night… Would love your support.”
How he fares in this test against an opponent coming off a big win remains to be seen.