Nope, that headline is not made up.
Hey, remember that time two YouTube “celebrities” with tens of millions of subscribers engaged in an amateur boxing match? Well this time around not only are KSI and Logan Paul going to run it back, but it’ll be under professional rules!
It was announced on Tuesday that KSI vs. Logan Paul 2 is going to be promoted by Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing, with the six-round contest serving as the main event of a card streamed live on DAZN on November 9th from Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Their first bout, which ended in a majority draw in front of a packed house in Manchester, England, reportedly sold over a million buys on PPV at a cost of $9.99 US.
“13 months ago when the first fight took place I smirked and pondered how embarrassing it would be to stage this event in a 20,000 seater arena,” said promoter Eddie Hearn in a press release. “What I saw was a phenomenon; a sold out arena, over one million PPV buys but more importantly an energy of a new audience to the sport of boxing.
“When I was asked to be involved in the rematch it got me excited but I had some requests to help integrate the two audiences. I requested that both fighters turn professional and undergo the same medicals that any other fighter would. I asked that the fighters lose the headguards and use 10oz gloves, if we are going to do this then let’s do it properly.
“Both men obliged and now they prepare for war on November 9 – this event will be huge, a World championship card beneath an event that will create a hype for boxing not seen in the US for a long time. Staples Center will be sold out and a new audience will join our great sport and tune in live on DAZN.”
England’s KSI (real name Olajide William Olatunji) is not just an internet personality and a rapper, he also had a boxing match before Logan Paul. He beat fellow YouTube star Joe Weller by third-round TKO, a fight that has amassed upwards of 18 million views on the platform.
Logan Paul was apparently an Ohio high school wrestler, qualifying for state championships back in 2013. Some may know his name from this controversy from last year. Apparently he has a longstanding beef with KSI, hence the two-fight agreement to settle things in the ring.
So here we are more than a year later, and they’re both set to make their respective pro debuts against each other. The California State Athletic Commission is sanctioning this fight, so as Hearn noted, they will make sure they go through proper procedure.
For DAZN, this is obviously an (arguably cynical) attempt to boost their subscription count, but hardly a stupid one given the financial success of the first matchup. For US viewers, a monthly subscription is $19.99, so consider the rematch a $10 increase from last year. It’s also important to note that the date of this event is within the 30-day window of when Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz II is scheduled to happen, so there’s certainly some strategy at play here in trying to lure in a new audience.
According to The Athletic’s Mike Coppinger, WBO super-middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders (28-0, 13 KOs) and rising lightweight star Devin Haney (22-0, 14 KOs) could also feature on the undercard. This is contrast to the first KSI-Logan Paul showdown, which had more YouTube stars packing the undercard, including Logan’s brother Jake beating KSI’s brother Deji.
That means several legitimate, world-class fighters will be the supporting cast for the YouTube Boxing Championship of the World (or whatever the hell it’s called). It also means that we, as combat sports media, are basically obligated to cover this show.