(KSI VS LOGAN PAUL 2, Photo taken from ESPN)
We definitely know what boxing is, the combat sport that consists of two people fighting to win or eventually knock the opponent out. Throughout the years boxing has been one of the most entertaining sports. It can involve a small amount of audience or maybe none until a full packed stadium with less breathing space. Boxing is not only about the fight, but it is also about the hype. The dedication given and the intense drama created before two fighters meet on the ring is what makes this sport beautiful.
Throughout time we have a lot of ring champions, starting from ‘The Greatest’ Muhammad Ali until best of today’s era Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather. The legacy they left made this sport look amazing in the public eye. However, boxing is now dying. There are less audiences and people that are attracted to this combat sport. One of the factors that made boxing diminished is that combat sport has developed to many branches such as MMA or the UFC.
YOUTUBE BOXING, The New Branch of Boxing?
In 2018, there was a shocking move from the Youtube world. KSI, one of the most subscribed English Youtubers, challenged Joe Weller, who is also an English Youtuber, to a boxing fight. It started from a personal argument which then resulted in an amateur boxing fight between those two Youtbers that took place in a sold out O2 Arena, London. The result was KSI’s victory and he then challenged one of the most subscribed American Youtubers, Logan Paul. The event took place 4 months after KSI’s first amateur boxing match victory in a sold out Manchester Arena and resulted in a draw. A year later the rematch was held as a professional boxing fight. This became a huge controversy in the boxing world. Not only that, the fact that the event was promoted by the finest boxing promoter today, Eddie Hearn, made this event look even more stupid in the eyes of pure boxing fans. The fight resulted in KSI’s first pro-boxing victory defeating Logan Paul in his own backyard in a sold out Staples Center, Los Angeles.
Is This A Good Way To Bring Back Boxing To Life?
To a pure boxing fans eye, this is a complete joke. This is a complete time-wasting event in boxing fans’ eyes. It made it even worse when they put the fight for the world champion as a co-main event and put a professional debut that only held 6 rounds in a main event, fighting in a sold out staples center. It also became a boomerang effect towards their promoter, Eddie Hearn. He is known as the boxing promoter which promotes world title fights such as Anthony Joshua’s fight, who battles for the heavyweight title of the world. A lot of boxing fans and non-boxing fans think that Eddie Hearn is there to make millions and that he does not care about the image of boxing.
On the other hand, this new branding of boxing could increase the audience from different glasses. KSI and Logan Paul both have a high number of fans and subscribers. Therefore, it opens the opportunity for their fans or subscribers to expose themselves to boxing. It may also become a motivation for people to start training in boxing. In the long run, this could lead to the comeback of boxing.
Author: M. Azzikra Prabu Zamzani | Student of International Undergraduate Program-2020
