Hearn Open to More Youtuber Fights
The build-up to, and aftermath of, the KSI vs. Logan Paul rematch has caused Eddie Hearn to change his stance on promoting other fights between celebrities from the video site.
In the lead-up to the fight, Hearn stated that the fight between the two YouTube stars, marking their professional boxing debuts, would be the only time he was interested in a card headlined by a celebrity fight.
Since then, however, the numbers and trends have caused Hearn to open up. In fact, KSI vs. Logan Paul 2 did better in terms of viewership than Andy Ruiz Jr.’s upset of Anthony Joshua earlier this year.
The KSI vs. Logan Paul 2 undercard featured WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney and WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders defending their titles. While Hearn says he probably won’t have a YouTubers fight take top billing over a world title fight again, he is interested in at least having YouTuber fights on undercards.
“We’re numbers people in this game. Everyone is. Anything that delivers is good news for everybody,” Hearn said. “What we can’t do is turn into a circus and have random people fighting each other all over the place.
It’s a one-off in that respect for me in terms of headlining a card, with a world championship undercard. I don’t think you’re going to see that a lot. Will you see other YouTubers fight on undercards moving forward? Much more likely.
Hearn and Matchroom Boxing are also reportedly very pleased on how the second KSI-Logan Paul fight did for subscriptions towards DAZN, though no numbers have officially been released or confirmed for that department.
“If it’s thrilling, if it’s exciting, you’re going to see many more of these, and it won’t just come from me,” said Hearn. “It will come from other promoters who look at the numbers and say, ‘we’ve got to do this.’ We can’t satisfy the demand of all of these celebrities and YouTubers.”
And Hearn added while he doesn’t see a situation where a Haney or BJS plays second fiddle to a YouTube star on a boxing card, he may see fighters try to be on the same cards as popular YouTubers in the hopes of increasing their reach and exposure.
“We saw fighters’ numbers grow digitally and socially through this event. It’s a big opportunity for them,” Hearn said. “It’s been amazing to learn about this experience and learn [KSI and Logan Paul’s] business. These guys are very smart people. Looking at the pre-buy numbers was blowing my mind. It was at the same level as an Anthony Joshua fight, or even bigger. They have earned the right to be here because they’ve built a brand and profile and they are taking it seriously.”
Original Story: Boxing Scene