Former Huddersfield Town, Leicester City and Newcastle United man to fight YouTube star in boxing match

Simpson recently announced his retirement from playing at the age of 37, bringing the curtain down on a career that featured a Premier League triumph with Leicester City. He had one spell in Yorkshire, making 25 appearances for Huddersfield during the 2019/20 season, and also counts Newcastle United and Manchester United among his former clubs.

Although he has hung up his boots, Simpson does not appear finished with sport. He will lock horns with Aarons at Dublin’s 3Arena on August 31, as part of a card presented by Misfits Boxing.

The promotion has taken the world of boxing by storm, introducing stars of YouTube and social media platforms such as TikTok to the ring. Simpson has stepped in to replace TikTok star Brandon 'Beavo' Beavis, who had initially been scheduled to face Aarons before suffering an injury.

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Speaking on the Misfits Boxing YouTube channel, Aarons said: "It was a weird one. I thought 'I've trained this much and now I'm potentially not fighting or I'm fighting someone that won't make any moves’.

"Then bang, Mams [Taylor] hits me up, 'Bro, we've got an ex-footballer'. "'Done'. I didn't even need to know who he was, whether he has trained before. I've now done some research, he has been training for four years but that's fine, I don't care.

"The previous opponent [Beavo], I go in there, I fight him, I win, yay. But if I come in there and beat an athlete, who has trained for four years in boxing, surely then that is making moves. I'm doing the Jake Paul route. I'm 22, I'm fighting a 37-year-old athlete, this is basically Nate Robinson. This is how it starts, mate."