It was in August of last year when we saw YouTube superstars KSI and Logan Paul square off inside a boxing ring in a white-collar boxing match. The bout generated huge attention all over the world, mainly because the two have a combined following of close to 40 million. The first bout ended in a majority draw as two judges saw the six-round bout as 57-57 while a third judge gave KSI the winner at 58-57.
Because of the commercial success of the first bout, boxing promoter Eddie Hearn jumped on the chance to book a rematch. And so now, YouTube stars KSI and Logan Paul will face each other in a rematch scheduled for November 9, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Their first bout was held at the Manchester Arena in England, KSI’s home country so it was but fair to Logan Paul for the rematch to happen in the United States
The fight will be shown via the live streaming services of DAZN and it will be the main event of the show. Before the fight, two world titles will be on the line with Devin Haney defending his WBC lightweight title and Billie Joe Saunders putting his WBO super-middleweight title on the line against Marco Esteban Coceres.
Here’s the tale of the Tape between the two YouTube stars:
KSI is a British YouTube superstar whose channel has reached more than one billion views and 18 million followers as of April 2018. Aside from doing YouTube videos since 2009, he is also a comedian, actor and rapper. KSI released his EP Keep it Up in 2016 and it reached the top spot in the UK R&B Album charts and charted in several countries as well.
After fellow YouTuber Joe Weller released a diss track against KSI for his supposed fight with his “Sidemen” group. That led to a white collar boxing match between the two last January. KSI won the fight via second round TKO.
American Logan Paul began his career as a Vine Star but with the Vine’s decline, he turned to YouTube where he instantly gained fame. Paul became controversial in 2017 when he filmed a dead man in Japan’s controversial “suicide forest”. The video drew plenty of criticism and protest which petitioned YouTube to delete his channels.
Here are the latest boxing betting odds for the KSI vs Logan Paul rematch:
In the first bout, KSI was the betting favorite at -225 while Paul came back at +175. These odds were taken from William Hill last June 14, 2018, or two months before the fight. It’s interesting why Logan Paul is the favorite in the rematch but remember that he is the bigger man and he is fighting in his home country.
KSI has good cardio and has fast hands. He also has very good movement inside the ring and he throws punches in flurries with decent accuracy. Cardio and Speed were his major advantage in their first bout as he was able to pick up the pace after the first half of the fight and do damage on Logan Paul. KSI was more accurate and he was able to avoid his opponent’s big punches.
However, the thing with KSI was that he was a slow starter. That allowed Logan Paul to pick up the points early in the fight. In the first round, he was looking for the home run punch as he was loading up on big punches that went wild. In the latter rounds though, he settled down and outboxed Logan Paul, using his speed and quickness. Also, KSI started throwing his jab in the second half of the fight. That jab not only kept Logan Paul off him but it also bloodied the American’s nose. If KSI wants to win decisively, then he must start strong in this fight and leave no room for the judges to make scoring mistakes.
As for Logan Paul, he is the bigger man in this fight. In their first bout, he started fast but instead of trying to maximize damage, he showboated and talked trash when he could have landed more punches. To his credit, Logan Paul boxed smart early on. He used the distance to avoid getting hit by KSI’s big punches. He also landed a steady jab and connected with the heavier shots.
But it appeared that Paul may have expended his energy trying to put away KSI with his power shots early in the fight. In the second half of the bout, Paul was visibly tired and looked winded at times. This allowed KSI to get back in the fight and finish stronger. If Logan Paul wants to win, he must improve his cardio or at least not empty his gas tank in the first three rounds of the fight.
For the rematch, the fighters won’t use headgears and that could be significant in this bout. Logan Paul has more power so KSI must be wary of his punches, especially early in the fight. I see the rematch following the footsteps of the first fight. It will be Logan Paul trying to establish the early advantage and it will be KSI who will finish strong. I think KSI starts stronger here and wins this fight more decisively. I think he won the first fight without a shadow of a doubt. I think he wins a clear decision here. Prediction: KSI
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