The hot new trend among YouTube stars is arranging boxing matches with each other
- Two of YouTube's biggest stars, Logan Paul and KSI, are arranging a boxing match with each other.
- Paul is keen for his father and brother to be involved in the fight too.
- Boxing matches can be a lucrative event for YouTube stars.
If you really want to make it on YouTube, then be prepared to post daily videos, release your own line of merchandise, and box other star vloggers.
Arranging high-profile boxing matches is, bizarrely, the biggest thing on YouTube right now. It started when British YouTubers KSI and Joe Weller fought in a match in London earlier this month, and now YouTube's biggest star, Logan Paul, has agreed to a follow-up match with KSI.
Neither of the men are professional boxers. Paul makes daily videos about his life for YouTube, although he does have high school wrestling experience. KSI became famous for posting videos about the popular football video game "FIFA." The men each earn millions every year from their YouTube channels, Forbes estimates.
Now, the pair plan to fight each other in a livestreamed boxing match. But why stop there? A single match is boring. Paul suggested in his video accepting KSI's challenge that his younger brother, Jake Paul, fights KSI's brother. And he's also keen for his father Greg Paul, known as the "Vlogdad," to box KSI's 58-year-old father.
Sky Bet is offering odds on the upcoming fight, and is currently giving KSI a 4/6 chance of winning.
Here's the video of KSI's previous intra-vlogger fight, in case you're keen to get a taste of it:
KSI didn't invent YouTube star boxing matches, though. What may have been the first vlogger fight took place in 2014 when Antoine Dodson, star of a viral video in which he was interviewed about the attempted rape of his sister, arranged a boxing match with the alleged rapist. Dodson won the fight.
It might sound absurd that some of YouTube's biggest stars are pivoting to boxing. But it makes sense for them. They need to maintain a high profile in order to grow their views and advertising revenue. They can also earn money from advertising on the video of the fight itself - the KSI vs Joe Weller fight brought in 1.6 million viewers when it was streamed live. And where better to buy their merchandise than at a boxing match featuring the stars?