KSI v Logan Paul – Match Report and Post Match Thoughts
What. A. NIGHT.
On Saturday night, millions of people tuned in to watch Logan Paul take on KSI in a six-round
boxing match at Manchester Arena. 20,000 people including myself were at the arena itself
and were certainly entertained from start to finish, with all the undercard fights showing
decent boxing ability, a complete surprise of a performance from Grime’s ‘King of The
North’ Bugzy Malone, and of course, the main event. Here are my thoughts on both the
main event and the main undercard event.
DEJI VS JAKE PAUL.
I PREDICTED: DEJI TO WIN IN THE FIFTH ROUND BY WAY OF T.K.O
FIGHT RESULT: JAKE PAUL WINS IN THE FIFTH ROUND BY WAY OF T.K.O
The undercard events had certainly done their job in getting the crowd warmed up and
when it was time for the main undercard event, they were going nuts. First off – fight
outfits. If there were points awarded for dress presentation then I have to say Jake would
have taken them. Dressed in all white, with a bane-like mask, he certainly looked the part.
Deji came out with a more traditional look, with silver and red shorts, and a snood mask
which covered his face.
The fighters touched gloves, went to their respective corners and waited. On paper, Jake
was taller, and officially weighed in a lot heaver than his opponent. These advantages
however, meant nothing when the bell rang for round one. Deji came in with huge swings
and uppercuts that Jake had no answer to. All he could do was hold Deji to stop him. The
crowd were roaring for Deji as he continued to throw hands at Jake – nobody expected this from him at all. The bell rang. Round one was over, and the face of the man who said ‘I’m
going to knock Deji out in the first round’ looked like this:
Jake’s face tells you all you need to know about how well Deji was doing – and I’m not just
talking about the blood. You can see he is clearly taken aback by how good Deji was and
how unprepared he was.
Round two – more of the same, Deji still fighting his heart out but Jake keept up with him
this time, getting in some great punches a few times and working Deji into the corners of
the ring on several occasions. Deji had the stamina at this point to get out of those traps and
keep moving. By the end of round two, both fighters had sustained heavy blows. Jake’s nose
was leaking yet again and Deji’s eye had taken a bit of a blow.
Water consumed and a talk with their coaches and it was back for the third round. This was
where fatigue began to kick in for both fighters. Punches were lacking in power and
movement was slightly slower. Jake used this and his size to again trap Deji in the corner of
the ring and give him a pummelling before being separated by the referee. The tables were
starting to turn, or where they?
Round Four – Deji again threw some incredible punches but at this point, they were doing
more harm to himself than to Jake Paul, who was equally knackered but waited patiently in
this round and got more key punches in to the body and face. Deji could barely keep his
hands up and it was looking bleak.
The bell rang for round five – and this was where it all came to a close. Jake again using that
tactic of working Deji into a corner and pummelling him with punches. The referee waved it
off, and Jake Paul had won the fight.
My Thoughts:
There can be no argument that Jake won the fight – however the respect that comes from it
has to go to Deji, who felt the need to open his post-fight interview with an apology for
letting people down. Little does he realise, he has earned the respect of a lot of fellow
YouTubers and fans alike. Nobody believed the fight would go on for as long as it did
because nobody believed in Deji’s ability to Box. I also don’t think he realises how much of a
hero he’s being revered as in the UK, for giving Jake Paul a bloody nose.
Jake’s victory interview was a mix of good sportsmanship, giving props to Deji but also
classic JP by announcing the launch of his clothing line and calling out CHRIS BROWN to a
fight. We can only see how that pans out.
Rematch?
Both Deji and Jake have said they’d be up for a rematch and I have to say – I’d be so much
more excited for it this time round. For Deji, another six months hard training, and working
on getting his stamina levels up – because that was the only thing that failed him, he could
become unstoppable the next time he faces Jake in the ring.
KSI VS LOGAN PAUL
I PREDICTED: KSI TO WIN IN THE THIRD ROUND BY K.O
FIGHT RESULT: FIGHT GOES THE DISTANCE. JUDGES RULE A ‘MAJORITY DRAW’
Six months of trash talk, twitter beef and diss tracks all came down to this. With Jake
winning the fight before, it would have definitely given Logan a confidence boost. The
legendary ring announcer Michael Buffer used his signature catchphrase ‘Let’s get ready to
rumble!’ sending the crowd into an absolute frenzy.
First, Logan made his way to the ring. Wearing a similar outfit to his brother but wearing it
in all black. Certainly looked impressive. There was quite a wait between Logan’s entrance
and JJ’s entrance – possibly another orchestrated mind game from KSI, But eventually he
entered the frame, wearing the colours of the union jack and black full face skull mask that
was only taken off seconds before the first round started.
For the first round my jaw was on the floor as Logan’s speed and incredible reach was
besting JJ at every point. While not all of Logan’s punches landed, all of them did something
in the sense that they prevented JJ from doing anything.
Second round – more of the same. Infact, JJ barely got a punch in this round. It was again, all
LP. The crowd rallied behind JJ who had started very slow. Whilst not taking any external
damage such as a nose bleed, KSI was definitely on the receiving end of much of the
combat.
During the interval between the second and third rounds, Logan was bent down with his
hands on his knees – surely an athlete like Logan couldn’t be tired already? It would seem
that he had outpunched himself for in the third round we saw much more of the KSI we saw
defeat Joe Weller earlier in the year with some vicious swings – one that cracked into the
side of Logan’s head which the crowd roared for in appreciation. There was a lot of holding
and even throw downs in this one – but it was much more of a fight in this round with both
fighters dealing and taking damage.
In the fourth – it again was a contest and both fighters were looking to throw punches
rather than defend. Logan’s speed was proving to be useful as he was dodging a lot of
punches and quickly moving out of the way of others. JJ was also using a new tactic which
we hadn’t seen previously which was ducking his head low and sweeping from side to side,
dodging punches but also getting in decent angled body shots.
The fifth – KSI calls himself ‘The Nightmare’ when boxing but ‘The Vampire’ might have been
more apt, because as Logan seemed to struggle and lose stamina – KSI gained it and was in
full control. Swinging left hooks, right hooks and uppercuts, one of which bloodied Logan’s
nose. Logan could only hold on to KSI at this point which almost led to another throwdown.
The sixth and final round and JJ was going IN, battering Logan with all sorts of punches. The
phrase ‘saved by the bell’ comes to mind really as if there was another twenty seconds in that round, I definitely think a TKO or even a KO could’ve happened.
Anyway, the fight went the distance and there was a lot of people in the ring, JJ’s team and
family surrounded him and Logan’s his. The referee and announcer were in deep conversation with the three ringside judges who’s score cards would now determine the fight. As this was going on, Deji could be seen with Jake Paul shaking hands, which,
regardless of what I think of JP, I appreciated a lot.
The bell was rang and KSI and Logan were brought to the centre of the ring with the referee
between them. Two of the three judges had their scores tied, meaning it was a majority
draw. This did NOT go down well with the crowd, many booing or verbally insulting the
judgement.
My Thoughts:
Personally, I think a draw is a fair result. Logan started off incredibly and KSI finished it
equally incredibly with the third and fourth rounds being fairly split. In the rounds where
Logan was in control compared to the rounds KSI had on lock, KSI looked to be more on the
offensive, especially in the sixth round. And both fighters didn’t come out with no harm
done. JJ come out with a black eye and Logan with a busted lip and bloodied nose, so you
can’t even determine the fight that way. And, one of the judges had KSI up on points but with the other two calling it even, the majority decision was made.
Logan’s speech at the end in which the pair agreed to a rematch, Logan declared this was
the start of a ‘new Logan Paul’ what that means, we have to wait and see. He also gave KSI a
debt of thanks for, and I quote, ‘saving his career’ by giving him something to focus on for
the last six months and not letting what happened in Japan earlier in the year define him. A
lot of LP haters will completely disregard that but I respect it and believed it was sincere.
KSI retains his YBC belt and title, but probably not in the way he thought he would. The
rematch will almost definitely take place in LA next year and I honestly cannot wait. The
saga continues!
Was it fixed?
Pretty much everyone who watched the fight will be disappointed with the result and a lot
of people are angry and claiming it was a fix to set up the second fight. I have to say, these
claims are ludicrous.
There was ALWAYS going to be a second fight – whatever happened, whether there was a
knockout or not because that’s what was agreed. Yet, a lot of people, mainly those who
watched the pay-per-view livestream are wanting refunds. They’ve just watched 8 amateur
boxing fights and a performance from Bugzy Malone for £7.50 or $10 and they’re wanting
refunds? Seriously? My mind cannot comprehend that.
In terms of what this means for the Internet and online content creation, it takes it to a
whole new level. Hopefully more events like it can happen in the future by different creators
and they branch out into different sports and/or other passtimes. Either way, Saturday night
was a win for the Internet, if nothing else.
Tweet me your opinions on the fight! @Tom_Levins
