KSI vs Logan Paul: Battle of YouTube stars ends in draw – as it happened
We bring you every jab, hook and diss track, while attempting to put this new media monstrosity in context...
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In front of 18,000 fans at the Manchester Arena, YouTube stars KSI and Logan Paul shared the spoils after six rounds of tense white-collar boxing.
While many may pour scorn on a matchup between two amateurs, more than 800,000 streamed the event, billed as the “biggest event in internet history”, at its peak.
At least a half a million more watched on illegal streams, despite the attempts of the organisers to quash them.
The match was the second bout for KSI, who defeated Joe Weller in front of a 7,000-strong sellout in London’s Copper Box Arena back in February.
Fans not able to make it to Manchester for the fight had to pay £7.50 ($10) for the privilege of watching a live stream of the action.
:: Chris Stokel-Walker (CSW) reporting live from the MEN Arena and Adam Hamdani (AH) following all the online reaction
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More than a quarter of a million pounds of bets on the outcome of the event had been taken by British bookmakers by Saturday afternoon, The Independent can exclusively reveal.
“We were blown away by the numbers we saw after KSI's last fight, but that pales in significance in truth, with interest from a betting perspective likely to hit £300,000 by close of play on Saturday night,” said Ladbrokes’ Alex Apati.
The clear message from Gib's coach Viddal in that fourth and final round was to calm down and re-establish his jab, which he did - although maybe it's because he was tired after three high-energy rounds of boxing.
He should just have taken it. It could be another that goes either way though. (AH)
You would never guess, watching the punishment he took, that Jay Swingler runs a Jackass-style YouTube channel where he goes through painful stunts for people's entertainment. (CSW)
After four full rounds of boxing, AnEsonGib takes the win on the judges scorecard (40-35).
Now onto the serious business, Deji vs Jake Paul. The atmosphere is about to go up a notch. (AH)
I can tell you Adam it has - the crowd here in Manchester just had a roar of excitement as they realised what was coming up next: the first of the two headline bouts starts in just over 10 minutes. (CSW)
Before the co-main event it's time for a performance from Bugzy Malone. (AH)
Bugzy Malone performs
The phones are out for Bugzy Malone's performance before the big fights begin. (CSW)
The scene at the MEN, it must be said, is pretty impressive. (AH)
KSI vs Logan Paul (copyright: Action Images/Reuters)
Sound the Buffer alarm.
The semi-main event of the evening is upon us, and pits Deji Olatunji, better known as ComedyShortsGamer (lesson number one in this brave new world where online fame can befall anyone: pick better usernames as a child) against Jake Paul.
Both are the younger brothers of the two combatants fighting in the main event, and have been largely overlooked in the build-up to this fight.
What's been overlooked is that the younger Paul has 16 million subscribers and a significant fanbase of his own, while the younger Olatunji brother is closing in on 10 million subscribers.
There's been a few unkind things said about Deji online, not least by his opponent, Jake Paul. Last night Paul tweeted out a less-than-flattering picture of Deji at the weigh-in.
Truthfully, no one expects Deji to win.
Except Deji himself.
"I bet on myself," he told Chris yesterday at the weigh-in in Manchester. "I bet £50,000 on me to win."
He got someone else to lay the bet "because apparently you’re not allowed to bet on yourself," he added. "I got some at 5/1 and some at 3/1." (CSW)
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