Jake Paul slams door shut on KSI boxing fight after performing stunning U-turn
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul has cast doubt on whether a fight with long-time rival KSI will happen.
A potential dust-up between the two social media stars would go down as the biggest clash in influencer boxing history. Despite years of trading barbs, a fight has yet to materialise. The main hurdle appears to be agreeing on a weight class for the grudge match.
Most Valuable Promotions CEO Nakisa Bidarian recently revealed that they had laid out terms to Wasserman - the promoters behind Misfits Boxing - for a December fight. "Not engaging in a back and forth. We proposed our terms to Wasserman on April 4th and the offer that followed was those exact terms," Bidarian stated on social media.
"Jake Paul wants to fight KSI. He does not need to fight KSI. Jake has campaigned at 200+ since December of 2023 and plans to continue at that weight with the intention to contest for a world championship by the end of 2026." Speaking on the Ariel Helwani Show on Monday evening, Paul commented on his manager's open discussions with Misfits' Mams Taylor about arranging a showdown with KSI.
"They only want eight rounds...they just keep adding new stuff [to the negotiations] all the time, and I'm focused on much bigger things," Paul said of a potential clash with KSI. "I'm all KSI has, he's literally nothing without the Paul brothers. Logan brought him Prime, and Prime has kept him relevant, and him being able to fight me is the only thing he has left. At the end of the day, I'm doing much bigger things and don't need to sit here and be negotiating things on Twitter. If they're going to make the fight happen, they're going to do it.
"I don't [think it's going to happen]...I've been saying this for five, six years, and this is a longer negotiation than Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao...I'm clearly the one who is an active fighter, I'm fighting everybody, so who's the problem here? They aren't a serious boxing brand, Misfits has gone to s***. Their brand is a joke...and there's clearly one side that knows what they're doing and another side that's just joking around and it's a circus."
The likelihood of a face-off between the two seems even more unlikely now. Recent reports suggest that KSI is due to have surgery for a persistent hand injury. The social media sensation had to withdraw from a 2 vs 1 tag team bout with Slim Albaher and Anthony Taylor last August when the injury worsened during training.
Last week, former UFC fighter Darren Till challenged KSI to a bout following his victory over Darren Stewart. The British YouTuber appeared hesitant about the fight, explaining his reluctance by saying: "For me, I have said that I need to fix my hand," when questioned about accepting Till's challenge.
He added: "I wanted to do hyrox (an indoor fitness competition) and I got one hour, 10 minutes and 43 seconds. It's pretty good for the first time. But for me, now that I have got that done, it is time for surgery. Get that fixed, and then just rehab it so I can eventually be able to punch again. I've heard from different people that it is six weeks or six months [to recover from]. I want it to be a lot sooner rather than later, but it just depends on how severe the damage is."
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North Wales Chronicle
14 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
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Powys County Times
15 hours ago
- Powys County Times
George Russell feels Max Verstappen should have been disqualified at Spanish GP
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Rhyl Journal
17 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
Oscar Piastri wins Spanish Grand Prix as Lando Norris slips back in title fight
Norris started second and finished in the same position – despite losing out to Red Bull's Max Verstappen off the line – taking the chequered flag 2.4 seconds behind Piastri. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc completed the podium after he fought his way past Verstappen following a late safety car re-start. However, Verstappen accused Leclerc of driving into him as the two made slight contact on the straight and then fell off the road as he attempted to defend from George Russell. Verstappen was advised to give the position to Russell to avoid a penalty, and while he seemed set to let Russell through, he appeared to drive into the Mercedes. YES TEAM! 💪#McLaren | #M7AReborn | #SpanishGP 🇪🇸 — McLaren (@McLarenF1) June 1, 2025 'What the f***'?' Russell said on the radio, with Verstappen later making way. Russell crossed the line in fourth, with Verstappen fifth. However, Verstappen was hit with a 10-second penalty by the stewards, demoting him to 10th. Lewis Hamilton finished a poor seventh after he was passed by Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg in the closing stages. Piastri's win, which came despite a late safety car, marked his fifth of the nine rounds so far to extend his title advantage over Norris from three points to 10. After failing to land pole position, Norris knew his best chance of beating Piastri would arrive at the long run to the opening corner. However, rather than battle Piastri for top spot, the slow-starting Englishman was left scrambling to keep hold of second with Verstappen drawing alongside in his Red Bull. LAP 62/66 Wow!! 😮 Replays show Leclerc and Verstappen touched on the pit straight at the restart 💥#F1 #SpanishGP — Formula 1 (@F1) June 1, 2025 Norris occupied the centre of the track, but Verstappen, with the advantage of sitting on the racing line, was able to stamp on his brakes later than the British driver to catapult ahead at the first corner. It was the worst possible start for Norris, who had been hoping to build on the momentum of taking just his second triumph of the season in Monaco a week ago. Instead it would be damage limitation, with Verstappen launching an early challenge on Piastri for the lead. It did not last long with Piastri 1.5 seconds clear at the start of lap four. Further back, and Hamilton, who out-qualified Leclerc for the first time since the Chinese Grand Prix in April, was up one place to fourth after he moved round the outside of Russell at the start. But the seven-time world champion was soon struggling for speed, and, for the second time in his short Ferrari career, was asked to move aside for Leclerc. Drama in the closing stages of the race! 😱 Max Verstappen drops to P10 following a 10-second penalty for causing a collision with George Russell #F1 #SpanishGP — Formula 1 (@F1) June 1, 2025 Hamilton duly obliged on lap 10 and by the start of the next lap had already fallen more than a second behind his team-mate. Norris, in his superior McLaren, made light work of Verstappen at the start of lap 13 to take second place, but by now Piastri was already 4.2 seconds up the road. In came Norris on lap 21 for a change of tyres with Piastri in on the following lap. That promoted Verstappen into the lead before the four-time world champion pulled in for his second change of tyres on lap 29. Hamilton's sub-par race then suffered another setback in the pits when he lost time with a sticky front-right tyre. Piastri looked on course to cruise to victory only for Kimi Antonell's engine to expire on lap 55 of 66, and, with the Italian rookie stranded in the gravel at Turn 10, out came the safety car. A six-lap shootout followed but, despite the chaos behind, it was Piastri who held his nerve to keep Norris at bay and land another dent to the Briton's title tilt. Piastri said: 'It was a great weekend overall. The pace was good and we could turn it on when we needed to. 'Good to bounce back from Monaco. It has been a great year and this weekend has been the one I have been after. The team gave me a great car and winning races is a lot of fun.' Norris said: 'Oscar drove a very good race. I didn't have the pace to match him but I gave it my best shot.' Leclerc added: 'Max wanted to bring me to the inside, so I was pushing him to the left. There was a bit of contact but for me no damage so there were no consequences.'
