The double-headed main events between Tommy Fury and KSI (Olajide Olatunji) and Logan Paul versus Dillon Danis proved to be exactly as the fighters themselves represented: amateurish and unprofessional. The boxing event was held at the AO Arena in Manchester, United Kingdom, on October 14th.
Notably, the fight card seemed to have attracted more attention than other boxing shows due to the popularity of several fighters involved. The event was promoted by Misfits Boxing―of which KSI is the CEO―in conjunction with promoter Kalle Sauerland’s Sauerland Promotions and featured a cast of non-professional fighters attempting to settle disputes or showcase their boxing abilities to fans.
Most of the participating fighters are known as social media influencers with no amateur background in boxing, while other fighters have some experience in combat sports, though not necessarily in boxing.
Co-headlining the card were two Americans: WWE wrestler Logan Paul and former MMA fighter Dillon Danis, who is best known for his connections to former UFC multi-division champion Conor McGregor. As expected from fighters with little to no amateur or professional boxing experience, their heavyweight bout turned out to be one of the most disappointing fights on the card, and it was anticlimactic given the high level of interest due to their disputes on social media.
Danis, in particular, was the primary cause of the deterioration of the fight, displaying himself as unprofessional and uncommitted to the sport during his six-round fight with Paul. Both influencers made their professional boxing debuts, but neither truly impressed, although Logan Paul admittedly attempted to turn the match into a fight.
However, Danis was unwilling to engage, resorting to antics even as Paul advanced with body punches, jabs, and straight rights through his orthodox stance. Preferring to cover himself up, Danis’ game plan initially seemed to be tiring Paul out as the WWE star pressed the pace, despite many blows being caught on his gloves.
As the fight progressed, it became clear that Dillon Danis was simply not mentally and/or physically capable of putting up a fight, and most of the match was spent with him mocking Paul verbally or through facial gestures. Logan Paul was active in every round but found that most of his punches were either blocked or ineffective in causing damage.
Although there were moments where Paul landed several combinations, none of them seemed capable of putting Danis out of commission. Dillon Danis appeared to make Paul think twice with several right hooks that landed on Paul in the earlier rounds, but in the later rounds, the MMA fighter merely taunted and adopted a defensive stance, barely throwing any punches.
The last round was the most notable part of the fight, as Dillon Danis attempted to grab Paul’s legs as if he were in MMA, only to fail miserably. Later in the same round, he provided another attention-grabbing moment when he attempted an actual guillotine grip during a match sanctioned as a professional boxing bout and set according to the rules of boxing, making his attempt fiercely illegal.
Danis’ embarrassing and failed MMA antics and tactics summed up the debacle of the match, which did not thoroughly entertain, mostly due to Danis’ unprofessional behavior. Logan Paul was announced the winner by disqualification after Danis’ desperate violations in the last round, which completely ignored the conventional rules of boxing.
The following main event between Tommy Fury, the younger brother of WBC heavyweight Tyson Fury, and YouTuber KSI, proved to be equally unsuccessful in captivating the audience and viewers. They fought at cruiserweight.
The majority of the match was marred by the clinching and holding of both fighters, with most of it instigated by KSI, who was fighting in his second professional bout in his fringe boxing career, as became noticeable throughout the fight.
Tommy Fury, a part-time professional boxer himself, did not help matters with his own performance, seemingly lacking the same focus and boxing ability he displayed in his last match against Logan Paul’s younger brother, Jake Paul.
Both fighters engaged with each other but not effectively. KSI stooped to throwing wild right hands before immediately clinching, while Fury failed to impress with the minimal effort he put into fighting KSI. Whether due to complacency or indifference, Fury neglected to press the action and seemed busier in the earlier rounds with his jabs. His activity declined in later rounds, and although he seemed to be clearly the more efficient and effective fighter, especially with his counterpunches, there was a tentativeness at play that prevented him from truly looking to dominate.
Fury was clearly the better boxer throughout, but he could not capitalize on KSI’s unorthodox style of fighting, which involved him dropping his hands most of the time while seeking to land wild haymakers. Despite the clear defensive deficiencies in KSI, encapsulated by his complete lack of defense, Fury somehow did not manage to capitalize on this and put up a performance below what he had shown throughout his fringe professional boxing career.
The match had its moments, with both fighters seemingly landing some crucial shots, but none that turned the match around. In the second round, Fury had a point deducted for repeated intentional blows to the back of KSI’s head, but this did not seem to change the outcome of the overall result.
Tommy Fury was announced the winner by unanimous decision, though this was initially announced as a majority decision (MD) and corrected afterward, concluding a card that was devoid of entertainment, despite the excitement generated by the public disputes between the headlining fighters.
Fury’s performance notably raised questions given his professional pedigree. With his inability to put away KSI, who lacked any sort of decent defense, Fury clearly underperformed, considering his professional experience, his status as a member of a boxing family, and his previous victory over Jake Paul, where he showcased his ability to be a level or two above Paul.
KSI himself seemed to lack the refinement of an amateur boxer, much less a professional boxer, but it was Fury’s failure to punish him for his mistakes that truly defined the narrative of the match.
Overall, the event was supported by other fighters, most of whom were social media influencers, who did not hold a candle to the average professional boxer but at least provided entertainment, unlike the main events.
In essence, it was a debacle of a fight card, which seemed to mock the sport of boxing with the way the fighters conducted themselves unprofessionally throughout the build-up. This never culminated in anything worth seeing, as both headlining matches firmly disappointed despite the attention they had drawn to the event.
What the show did was prove why professional boxing is a serious profession and why it has been respected and valued as a legitimate sport for more than a century. Boxing is steeped in tradition and history that will likely not be undone in the far future, but the fiasco of the boxing show officially showcased as professional fights has put a dent in the sport and its reputation, making it challenging to recover if these sorts of events continue due to the audiences that participating influencers seem to bring, as profit seems to be the driving force that has allowed these events to be made and continue to exist.
