"He was like: I'm just having banter I don't want to fight" - Luke Littler turns down celebrity boxing match after social media beef

After bursting onto the scene at the most recent World Darts Championship, finishing runner-up to Luke Humphries at the Alexandra Palace in January, Luke Littler has quickly transcended the sport of darts and become a genuine household name.

As such, there is plenty of wider interest in the still 17-year-old Englishman, not all of it welcomed. After some recent social media beef with influencer, Beavo, Littler told Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour, he'd be open to getting into the ring himself. "I'd love to. Why not. I tried it like once or twice when I was younger," said the Nuke, even revealing he had an opponent in mind. "It's like a proper person, it's not a darts player. Do I like him? Nah. Beavo. He just swallows whole potatoes whole on TikTok. I don't like him. He actually messaged me on TikTok saying do you want to get a kebab together, I just ignored him."

Hearing the teenage sensation speaking like this, ears perked up at Misfits boxing, famous for putting on fight for the likes of KSI and other 'celebrity boxers'. "I actually messaged him right away as soon as I got wind of that," Misfits Boxing guru Mams Taylor told talkSPORT.com. "Lovely guy, he has come to a Misfits event before. I think he will come to Dublin later this year."

As far as Littler getting into the ring himself however, Taylor was left disappointed. "He was like 'I'm just having banter I don't want to fight yet'," Taylor reveals. "But he said 'you never know in the future'. Of course the door is always be open. It is right on brand with what Misfits Boxing is about. So it would be great to have him in the future."

With his ever rising popularity and renown, Littler will need to manage himself away from the dartboard, with people looking to make money off his back, as former world champion Dennis Priestley has previously warned. "Luke Littler is still so young and we have to be a little bit concerned for the lad. He's going to be forced to turn his head if all these top stars are wanting to be seen in his presence," Priestley told OLBG recently. "You can only go so far with celebrities jumping on the Littler bandwagon."