It doesn’t appear that the sweet science is long in the cards for YouTuber-turned-boxer Logan Paul.
After his professional boxing debut against KSI at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Nov. 9, the content creator wants to try his hand as a mixed martial artist in the cage.
“I’d like to do MMA after this,” Paul told a group of reporters in Los Angeles. “I’m obsessed. In an ideal world, I’d like to be the most viewed prized fighter in the world. I want to be the best exhibition fighter in the world. I want to fight in big bouts and entertain the sh-t out of people and beat the sh-t out of people standing across me.”
Never missing out on the opportunity to make a click-worthy headline, Paul even said he’d like to fight Conor McGregor.
Streaming service DAZN is procuring the rematch fight between Paul and KSI with the promotional might of Matchroom Boxing, hoping that the two content creators can produce the success of their first fight in 2018 that yielded 15,000 at Manchester Arena in England and 1.2 pay per view buys at $10 a piece.
Across Youtube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, Paul (56.9 million) and KSI (34.7 million) have a combined audience of 91.6 million people, predominantly across Gen Z audiences boxing has had trouble reaching.
DAZN and Hearn are hoping that a slice of the audience they captivate sticks along as subscribers and starts to gain a liking for the sport.
“It’s a dream come true to be working with [Matchroom head] Eddie Hearn,” said Paul. “He’s a boxing legend right here. Last year, I watched him wanting to say something nice about our fight, and here we are now working together.”
“I tried not to like [the first fight],” quipped Hearn, who is complementing the card with touted prospect Devin Haney and undefeated WBO super middleweight Billy Joe Saunders serving as chief support.
If Paul is serious about his MMA endeavors and becoming must-see TV, he can also walk to DAZN’s other combat sports property in Bellator, if that were an option.
“I’ve been boxing for the last two years. This is not a gimmick anymore. I’m no longer a YouTuber right now. I’m a f---ing professional fighter, and I’m going to treat it like that. I’ve been training. I’m taking this sh-t seriously.”
When asked to describe himself, Paul said, “I’m a boxer, slash YouTuber, director, actor, writer, producer. I don’t know what I am.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist and member of the Boxing Writers Assn. of America since 2011. He has written for the likes of the Guardian, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Men’s Health and NFL.com and currently does TV commentary for combat sports programming that airs on Fox Sports. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan or via email at manouk.akopyan@gmail.com.
