Report | KSI vs Logan Paul rematch did terrible PPV numbers

The boxing showdown between YouTube stars KSI and Logan Paul had the promotional powerhouse of Eddie Hearn and DAZN behind it. However that wasn’t enough to bolster a UK following as the event did unimpressive UK PPV numbers.

Approximately 12,000 people attended the KSI vs Logan Paul rematch that took place in the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The October 9 fight was a rematch of their 2018 fight in the UK, which resulted in a draw. KSI won the second fight by a controversial split decision victory.

Despite KSI’s being born and raised in the United Kingdom, very few UK citizens decided to tune into his rematch with Paul. According to World Boxing News, which got confirmation from the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, only 216,000 people purchased the PPV on Sky Sports. This is despite being half the price of the standard pay-per-view.

KSI and Paul have a combined 40 million Youtube subscribers were paid a disclosed $900,000 each.

Part of the reason this Logan Paul vs. KSI pay-per-view likely suffered in the UK is the time difference. Fans weren’t willing to wake up at 5:00 am to purchase the PPV fight. The released number does not include illegal streaming. The event had a significant amount of hype and interest in the lead-up, but a comparison of the UK’s top PPV boxing events shows how poorly it did.

#KSIvsLoganPaul2 UK PPV STATS:

Rematch between @KSIOlajidebt & @LoganPaul only drew a mediocre 216,000 buys on UK pay-per-view

The PPV’s from the @DAZN_USA are not available at this time and there were factors that made the UK PPV difficult to watch, but here is a UK comparsion pic.twitter.com/pLVXzbKUmg

— Mr. Pescatore (@JoshPescatore) December 1, 2019

It is unclear whether Eddie Hearn and DAZN will be interested in organizing more celebrity crossover boxing fights in the future. Despite the lack-lustre UK reception, Hearn believes the future looks bright.

“You don’t realize the audience these guys have,” Hearn said following the KSI vs. Paul fight (via Forbes). “They brought our sport to reach new ground and reach new territories, new demographics and new markets.”

However, it is clear that KSI and Logan Paul are both interested in building a career path in combat sport. Paul has even teased a move to MMA. UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz is willing to help the Youtube star as he believes he has great potential.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 12/3/2019. 

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