The Biggest Influencer Boxing Fights Thus Far

Influencer boxing is an acquired taste and of that, there can be no doubt. Some sports fans have a disdain for the new branch of the sport, especially considering the huge sums of cash that are paid despite most fighters' lack of skills. With more huge fights around the corner, influencer boxing appears to be going nowhere.

The trend began back in 2018 when British social media sensation KSI dominated fellow influencer Joe Weller in an amateur clash. The former would then battle it out with American sensation Logan Paul, also in the amateur world. The pair noticed that there was plenty of money to be made and founded Misfits

Boxing, a new promotion, especially designed to pit one influencer against another.

After five years, there have been plenty of money-spinning bouts despite the sport's relatively new introduction into the mainstream. Here are three of the biggest matchups to have taken place thus far.

KSI vs. Logan Paul II

KSI and Logan Paul are the pioneers of the space and are now good friends. That is demonstrated by the upcoming card from Manchester, where the two will battle it out against Tommy Fury and Dillon Danis respectively. When it comes to the Paul vs. Danis odds, the Maverick is a short-priced 1/8 favourite for success. KSI meanwhile is a huge underdog for his bout with the younger brother of WBC Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury.

Before the two were good friends, they were bitter enemies. The first contest between the pair ended in a controversial draw and a rematch naturally made sense. The two announced that it would be a professional contest hosted at the iconic Staples Center and promoted by Matchroom's Eddie Hearn, sending the hype into another stratosphere.

The boxing betting odds for the November 2019 rematch couldn't split the two however, the fight was eventually won by the Briton via a razor-thin split decision. The bout did a whopping two million pay-per-view buys and proved that there is big business in the world of influencer boxing.

Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury

While his older brother Logan was the pioneer, it is Jake Paul who is the influencer who has made the most waves in the sport of boxing. He has taken the endeavour more seriously than any other fighter and has fought and defeated a host of MMA superstars including Nate Diaz, Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren. The one complaint levied against him was that he was yet to fight a bonafide professional boxer.

That all changed earlier this year when the 26-year-old signed to face Tommy Fury. The bout had to be rescheduled no less than three times due to the latter pulling out for one reason or another, but when the two finally came face-to-face, it was a blockbuster affair. The hype reached all-time highs and TV networks were falling over themselves in the hopes of acquiring the rights to the contest.

The bout eventually took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and did a buy rate of over 1m pay-per-view buys. Despite dropping his professional opponent, it was Fury who came out with a split-decision victory.