YouTuber Logan Paul stormed out of a ridiculous press conference with KSI ahead of their big boxing fight
- Two well-known YouTubers, Logan Paul and KSI, are planning a boxing fight at Manchester Arena in August.
- Paul walked out of a press conference on Wednesday intended to drum up publicity for the event because KSI hurled insults at his girlfriend and family.
- "Apparently you only have 85% of your testicle," said KSI at one point.
- YouTuber boxing matches have become a hot new trend, and a good way for vloggers to rack up lots of views, publicity, and money.
YouTuber Logan Paul stormed out of a press conference with fellow-vlogger KSI, as the pair try to drum up interest in their livestreamed boxing match at Manchester Arena next month.
The YouTube stars held the event with fans in London's York Hall on Wednesday, ostensibly to trade barbs before their big fight, which is expected to rack up millions of views online.
Those barbs escalated into genuinely offensive insults, with KSI (real name Olajide Olatunji) hurling abuse at his opponent's girlfriend and family.
Paul stayed mostly quiet during the event, listening to KSI volley insults at him.
KSI strolled on-stage wearing a blond wig, an apparent reference to Logan Paul's luxurious surfer hair, and said: "Hasn't England suffered enough? We lost to Croatia in the semi-final. We had Trump come over last week. Now we got you this week."
KSI then brought up Logan Paul's girlfriend, "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" star Chloe Bennet, who wasn't at the event. He asked "What's up, babes?" to what sounded like background chants of "She's a ho" from the attending crowd, and suggested he would make a better lover because Paul had lost 15% of his testicle in a stunt.
"Apparently you only have 85% of your testicle," said KSI. "Let me give her the extra 15. Let me show her a real man." When Paul attempted to interject, KSI told him to "Shut the f**k up."
Later, KSI persuaded the crowd to chant "F**k the Pauls" repeatedly, in reference to both Logan Paul and his YouTuber brother Jake. He also insulted the Pauls' "ludicrous Mum" and their "disgusting, delusional Dad."
The Pauls' father, Greg Paul, is increasingly involved with managing his sons' YouTube empires and fans have suggested that he should battle KSI's father, Jide Olatunji. KSI mocked Greg Paul's fighting chops, then made a sharp reference to a controversial video where Greg Paul kissed a young woman as part of a "kissing contest."
Finally, Logan Paul spoke up, telling fans he would "love to answer your questions" before getting up, dropping his microphone, and walking out.
Critics of Logan Paul might well enjoy KSI using him as a punching bag, since the YouTuber came under heavy fire earlier this year for filming a dead body in Japan. YouTube temporarily suspended ads from his videos.
While Paul looked genuinely upset at points, he couldn't have been too offended. After the press conference, he posted an edited highlights reel to his YouTube channel with the title: "I LEFT THE KSI VS. LOGAN PAUL PRESS CONFERENCE [HIGHLIGHTS]." You can watch that video below.
The big fight is likely to rack up hundreds of millions of views
Arranging boxing matches is a big trend on YouTube this year. It kicked off when KSI and another YouTuber, Joe Weller, fought in London earlier this year. That match racked up 20 million total views, and Logan Paul agreed to fight in a follow-up.
None of the three men are professional boxers, with KSI and Joe Weller usually making videos about football, and Logan Paul mostly making videos about pranks and stunts. Fans could buy tickets to the Joe Weller fight, and the livestream was available for free.
The follow-up match looks like it will be more lucrative, not least because KSI and Logan Paul have 18 million and 17 million YouTube subscribers respectively, compared to Joe Weller's 5 million.
The two are trying to drum up more money by charging viewers to watch the Manchester fight on YouTube. It will cost $8 to watch online and if each of their collective 35 million fans watched, it would net the pair $280 million from streams alone.
You can watch highlights from the KSI-Logan Paul press conference here: