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...
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.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
Please allow a moment for the live blog to load...
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.
If you're still wondering how to watch the fight, this is the perfect explainer with everything you need to know:
The trash talking began months ago and it'll keep on going right up until the bell rings - KSI's tweet this afternoon proves that.
There are some bad words in it so I'm not going to embed the tweet, but it goes a little something like this: "You're a p****hole. Imma put you in deep waters boy. You can do whatever you want to try protect yourself but it won't matter... just wait. @LoganPaul"
He means business it seems.
Manchester is buzzing this weekend – and it’s not just a contingent of YouTube fans descending on the city to watch KSI and Logan Paul duke it out.
This weekend is Manchester Pride too, and the city has been overrun with tens of thousands of visitors, winding their way through the city.
Those who tried to get a hotel room or Airbnb for the night will have struggled: earlier this week there were few hotels with vacancies around the Manchester Arena area, while the price of them has more than doubled for this weekend compared to next weekend. (CSW)
In case you're unaware of the sheer size of the event, those present include the following names:
Michael Buffer (as ring announcer)
Johnny Nelson (as analyst)
Shannon Briggs (as commentator)
These guys might not be professionals but they're not here to mess around.
Even until the last moment, the drama continues (obviously, it's a YouTube event).
Logan Paul now claiming that KSI's team aren't allowing him to walk out to "On Point". (AH)
Did you see the weigh-in on Friday afternoon?
If not, here are some of the key things from it:
• Deji weighed in at 79kg, Jake Paul weighed in at 82kg
• KSI weighed in at 84.9kg, Logan Paul weighed in at 86kg
• KSI decided to wear a face mask of Logan's girlfriend Chloe Bennett when facing off
Here's a quick edit of yesterday's events.
This fight is a big deal. It's not just because of the two names, but Josh Zerker - member of the Sidemen gang that KSI is a part of, sums it up well.
If the first YouTube boxing event was anything to go off, this one is going to be huge. (AH)
People are already queuing up to get in for the event, which doesn't get underway until 5.30pm.
Our man Chris Stokel-Walker is among the large group (which appears to currently consist mainly of teenagers) and says security measures are high. (AH)
What are the chances something like this will happen in one of tonight's fights? Very unlikely of course, but how funny would that be. (AH)
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments