Last June, we talked about an upcoming and highly publicized white collar boxing match between two YouTube superstars. Now that fight is barely three weeks away from actually taking place. Yes folks, it is definitely going to happen.
Let’s take a look at the latest updates, including the events leading up to fight night, the odds, preview and our pick for the said boxing contest:
Since we talked about the fight, there have been events in between. We listed down the significant transactions that have happened for this event.
Three days after engaging in a verbal argument at Los Angeles’ Warwick Club, the two protagonists met face to face in the event’s first press conference held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum where former boxing heavyweight champion Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs was a surprise emcee.
Again, the pair turned the presser into a heated affair after Logan Paul got unnecessarily close to KSI while the latter was talking as the American proceeded to rip off KSI’s blond wig and attempted to take off his bandana. A shoving match ensued but they were separated before all hell broke loose. Or so it looked that way.
The two met again at an exclusive Press Conference in the York Hall at London’s Bethnal Green. This time out, the audience was limited to 1,000 fans, most (if not all) of which were British.
This one didn’t last long as barely 15 minutes into the presser, Logan Paul and Jake Paul left the stage after apparently getting pissed off by the fact that KSI was getting too much mic time and didn’t like the line of questioning by the Brits during the press conference. Earlier, the two once again engaged in a verbal tussle as KSI hit Logan Paul’s dad and girlfriend Chloe Bennett.
Tickets went on sale at the Eventim website beginning June 22, 2018. These are the cost of the tickets:
An additional of £12.50, £7.50, £5 or £3.50 booking fee and £1.20 facility fee will also be charged.
There is also a VIP package which costs (hold your breath…), £516.20 (£495 + £20 BF + £1.20 FF). But these aren’t just ordinary tickets with the best seats in the house on fight night. They include VIP access to public workouts during fight week and meet and greet with the fighters. For full ticket info, click here.
The promoters haven’t given updates on ticket sales but two days after the tickets went on sale, KSI announced that extra seats have been added, Likewise, he also said that a seat map had been established.
According to KSI, there will be three commentators for the fight and all three will be British YouTubers. These are True Geordie, Laurence McKenna, and Joe Weller. But perhaps the big name that has been confirmed as part of the event will be the world’s #1 ring announcer Michael Buffer. Buffer will introduce the fighters and start the fight with his iconic “Let’s get ready to rumble” tagline.
Because these are YouTube stars, the bout will be streamed via YouTube of course and it won’t be free. The fight can be viewed via pay per view with the price of £6 or $8. Considering KSI’s bout with Joe Weller got over 20 million views, you can just imagine the PPV money from this fight.
When we first wrote about this much-hyped event, we only knew of one undercard bout and that was the fight between KSI and Logan Paul’s brothers. But just recently, the full undercard for the event was announced and here it is:
When the fight was announced, there was mention of a two-fight deal. After the pair’s fight later this month at KSI’s home country, a rematch will be scheduled for February 2019 at a venue still to be determined. What’s sure for now is that that second bout will be held in the United States, Logan Paul’s home.
There are also rumors that the winner between KSI and Logan Paul will face the winner of Deji vs Jake Paul in the second event and the losers also headlining the undercard. Their fathers have also been rumored to square off so that could also be a possibility in the second meeting. If that’s indeed the case, this could turn out to be one hell of a family affair.
When the lines were first drawn last May, KSI opened as a -250 favorite against Logan Paul’s +170 per BetOnline Sportsbook. Meanwhile, Bovada opened KSI as a -230 odds on favorite and Logan Paul a +160 dog. But since then, the lines have changed although it’s still KSI who is favored. Check out the odds from US and non-US bookmakers:
As we can see from the current numbers, the betting lines are closer now than when they officially opened. One of the reasons for that is that as we got to know the fighters, we suddenly realized that Logan Paul isn’t just a trash-talking blond kid. For all his surfer-boy looks, he is an athlete. And while he has no prior boxing experience, he can be taught the basics and may be a natural learner because of his athletic background.
KSI is a worthy favorite because for one, he’s already done this before and well, he’s trained much longer than his opponent. But this won’t be about experience or training. It’s going to be about who wants it badly. When you got two guys who can’t box, this could be ugly. And it could turn to a street fight.
Logan Paul is the bigger man here, by two inches in height and around twenty pounds in weight. Or at least that’s what the stats say. Size is both an advantage and a disadvantage. As a plus, the bigger man may have more power, more strength. On the opposite end, he may not be fast enough to catch the smaller opponent.
But again, this may not be about skill. Rather, it could be all about will. In a fight where there are two unknowns, anything can happen. In that case, I’m going with the plus money here. And yes, Logan Paul may be more than just his surfer hair. We’re picking Logan Paul to beat KSI in an upset.
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