The much talked about boxing showdown between YouTubers KSI and Logan Paul is just around the corner.
Neither are boxers really but given their popularity on YouTube, this showdown is expected to be one of the most popular fights of the year, just like Mayweather vs McGregor was last year. For those of you who are not too familiar with the fight, let us break it down for you:
Before we talk about the fight, let us first talk about the protagonists. Curiously, these aren’t boxers- whether professional or amateur, hence we came up with the best Tale of the Tape that we could:
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.
Paul also has acting experience as he has appeared as guest in such shows as Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and Weird Loners. He also appeared in the movies The Thinning and The Space Between Us. After KSI called him and his brother out after the latter’s boxing match last January, Logan Paul accepted the challenge and that’s why he have a fight.
It can be recalled that KSI made headlines with his boxing debut last January against a fellow YouTuber named Joe Weller, with whom he had a feud. After beating down his opponent, KSI declared himself as the YouTube boxing champion and called out other YouTubers, specifically Logan and Jake Paul (and practically anybody surnamed Paul for that matter). The video below starts at 23:35 to show the interview that started it all. Start from the beginning to see the whole fight.
It’s not clear why exactly KSI called out the Pauls since there are countless YouTubers out there. But that’s besides the point right now as Logan Paul accepted the challenge from KSI and they signed to a two fight deal.
The first bout will be held on August 25, 2018 at the Manchester Arena. The second fight is booked for February 2019 and while no venue has been discussed for the runback, it will be held in the United States. Initially, the two figured that they fight in a neutral venue.
The name Dubai was mentioned among favorites. But eventually, they decided to do a two-match deal with each fighter having the opportunity to fight before his countrymen. I think that’s logical because in doing so, there will be more money to make, especially if we have a good fight on August 25th.
If you take a look at boxing records though, KSI is an undefeated 1-0 with 1 KO for whatever that’s worth. On the other hand, Logan Paul is the bigger fighter by an estimate of 20 pounds and the taller one at around 2 inches height difference.
Going deeper into their backgrounds, Logan Paul was also a football linebacker and wrestler in high school. Given his athletic background, he may be more dangerous inside the ring than his choir boy looks suggest.
No question, KSI has the edge in training because he’s trained longer than Logan Paul given that he already has one fight under his belt. But when this bout was announced, there was more than enough time for Logan Paul to get into boxing training.
All of these lead to many unknowns and thus, this has the perfect recipe for an exciting fight. Whether it will be a good one in terms of boxing ability, we are sure it won’t be. These two are far from being polished boxers. In terms of being a quality boxing match, we all know it won’t be close to one. But in terms of entertainment value, there may be no other fight that tops this. That said, there is no better way to enjoy a fight like this than to put some dough on the line, regardless of which side you’re on.
When the betting lines were drawn, KSI opened as a favorite over Logan Paul. Bovada had it -230 to +165 while Betonline.com had it at -250 against +170 last May 28th. But the only reason why KSI was installed as favorite is well, he is the only one who has fought inside the boxing ring before.
Given that KSI has a one fight boxing experience and he looked pretty much impressive against Joe Weller, it was but natural that he opened as favorite. A couple of months after the lines were drawn, KSI is still favored and again, there is no surprise there. As they say, it’s better to have little experience than none at all.
But the fact that Logan Paul doesn’t have any boxing experience makes him a live underdog. For all we know, Paul’s high school experience in football and wrestling may make him a natural for the fight sport. Even if not, you cannot question his competitive nature given that he was into sports. Having said that, there may be solid betting value on Logan Paul as well.
The fact that these are two novice boxers make this an exciting match to bet on. Given their experience or the lack thereof, anything can and will happen in this contest. The unknown factor in this celebrity boxing match adds more to its appeal.
The KSI vs Logan Paul betting line can be found in the boxing or entertainment sections of SportsBetting.ag, Bovada and Betonline. However, in the past few weeks, the bet has come and gone a couple of times. You might have to check those sites several times before you can make a wager. As of June 15th, Bovada had KSI as a -200 favorite while Logan Paul came back at +150.
Upon checking, the KSI vs Logan Paul fight can be found in many European betting sites. For example, Betway has KSI a -189 and Logan Paul at +145 as of July 30, 2018. 10Bet has pegged KSI at -222 and Logan Paul at +150. On the other hand, 888Sport says that it is -154 for KSI and +125 for Logan Paul. All those figures are as of 7/30/18.
Based on the numbers above, the best bet for KSI is currently the -154 at 888 Sports while the best bet for Logan Paul is the +150 at Bovada and 10Bet.
With three weeks to go before fight night, those numbers are still expected to move, although it probably won’t be that significant. Still, before making your bets, it’s best to check as many sites as possible because the little difference in the numbers can make a significant impact on your winnings.
You can make a good case for KSI here. He is the one who has fought before inside the boxing ring and he will be fighting in front of his countrymen on August 25th. He also “appears” to be the more athletic between the two. But as we said earlier, don’t let the looks deceive you.
Logan Paul may look like the guy you saw in the library but when he started training for this fight, the kid got ripped. Look, this is no body building contest and we know that. But that just shows how serious Logan Paul is in training. Likewise, his high school athletic background is something to take notice of. This is a guy who played and football and wrestling in high school. Those are different from boxing but just as physical as well.
We’re putting our bet on the underdog here and picking Logan Paul to beat KSI.
The Miami Heat look to take a 2-0 series lead against the Milwaukee Bucks in…
The New York Mets head to Yankee Stadium to open a three-game series against the…
The Minnesota Twins play Game 2 of a three-game set against the New York Yankees…
The OKC Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans meet at the Smoothie King Center on Wednesday…
The No.8 Atlanta Hawks visit the No. 7 Miami Heat in the first play-in tournament…
The OKC Thunder visit the Utah Jazz at the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt…