What’s up YouTubers, welcome back to Da Zone, the exclusive home of Canelo Alvarez, but somehow also the exclusive home of a deeply embarrassing fake boxing match.
Broadcaster DAZN (which I swear you to stands for “Da Zone”) announced today that they would be selling pay-per-view access to a fight between Olajide “KSI” Olatunji and Logan “Logan Paul” Paul on Nov. 9 at the Lakers’ arena in Los Angeles. The bout will be a rematch, as the two YouTubers futilely pawed at each other last August and wow, wouldn’t you know it, the fight was ruled a majority draw. Now they can sell another fight, which I regret to inform you is happening.
Here is a quote from a Da Zone exec type about why they are doing this:
“As a new entrant into the U.S. landscape, we’re growing our brand awareness among a young, tech-savvy demographic of sports fan. These are the new superstars of the modern era and we can’t ignore that. This is the social media age, and there is huge fan interest in this fight, and they command a huge digital following.”
This is a rather embarrassing turn from Da Zone, who will also be showing a Gennady Golovkin fight this fall, the Anthony Ruiz-Anthony Joshua rematch, several Bellator cards, and probably an Alvarez fight. These two YouTube dudes are very obviously not real boxers, and even if the California State Athletic Commission has certified them and even if they fight without headgear this time, there’s nothing legitimate about this.
Here’s Logan Paul on his fake beef stirred up to promote a fake fight:
“Absolutely, I’m a real boxer,” Paul said. “I’ve done it for a year and a half now, so definitely have some skills. This isn’t just some YouTubers with beef trying to fight. It’s a real fight.”
I eagerly await TMZ Sports’s breathless, daily updates on this dumb boxing match.