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.
You can follow all the action throughout the entire evening right here, with Chris Stokel-Walker reporting live from the MEN Arena and Adam Hamdani in London, who'll be following the online reaction to the event.
Nick Page and his son Eden, 13, have travelled down from Sunderland to watch today's fight.
"My son's a big fan of KSI and YouTube in general and I'm just the dad who's done the taxi driving," Nick said.
They've spent £230 on the fight - not including a £20 KSI t-shirt Eden picked up from one of the many merchandise stalls peppering the concourse around the MEN Arena.
Eden's a boxer himself and has been since he was five, and is also a fan of KSI since his FIFA days. This is their second YouTube boxing match; both were in London in February to see KSI beat Joe Weller.
"I think this one will be harder for KSI," Eden said. (CSW)
Get your merch, come get your merch.
The income for the fighters is set to be huge and they are unsurprisingly looking to rake it from as many sources as possible. (AH)
While it’s not quite a sell-out, the evening does feel like another step towards mainstream acceptance of YouTube.
“The YouTube community has a long history of being looked down upon by the mainstream media,” says Trenton Lee of the University of Westminster, who is studying the site for his PhD. (CSW)
Thirteen-year-old Nathan Ryan's clear why he came to Manchester Arena. "I wanted to see Logan Paul and KSI fight," he says.
But his views are astute: he thinks KSI has the strength advantage but Logan Paul - his favourite - the reach.
He's keen to get into UFC himself. "He's mentioned it before," says his dad, Paul, a plumber based in London.
Paul's made a circuitous journey to get to Manchester: he travelled to Ireland from London to take his son to Manchester, and will be travelling back to Ireland via London, then back home to London. "It's all by boat and train because the flights are so expensive," Paul says.
He's gained an appreciation for YouTubers. "I got excited about in the last few days," Paul says. "I've started looking up things about both of them." (CSW)
“They’re doing 6x3 rounds, that is so difficult. Once the physical stuff is out of the way – it’s all about the mental strength.”
Former professional boxer-turned-analyst Spencer Oliver provides his expert opinion, showing just how big and difficult an evening each and every boxer has ahead.
Every one of the multiple merch stands dotted around the arena is doing a brisk business as fans aim to get their merch before the fight begins.
But curiously, for brothers who incessantly plug their merchandise in their videos, you'll not find any Logan Paul or Jake Paul merch on sale.
"They didn't bother," says Liam Chivers of OPTalent, KSI's agent and chief negotiator for the fight.
It's a curious decision as the Pauls are never usually shy about buying. (CSW)
Online comedian Call me Ham (okay we will then) versus Jrizzy Jeremy is our first bout of the evening, and in what we can only assume is an active attempt to sabotage their own event going viral, sadly Michael Buffer is not announcing any of the undercard matches.
There’s a strict no cameras policy in place within Manchester Arena – a stark departure from the last boxing match involving KSI, held in February this year in London.
The fundamental difference between then and now? The entire night isn’t being livestreamed for free, unlike back in February.
Those watching at home have to fork out £7.50 (or $10) to watch live coverage of the bout online. According to fight organisers, they’re viewing from as far afield as China (where YouTube is banned), Dubai and South America. (CSW)
The head guards are on, the talking is done. Call me Ham vs Jrizzy Jeremy is our first fight of the night and it's underway! (AH)
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