15 December 2023 , 10:00
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Jake Paul and KSI appear no closer to finally agreeing a mega-fight.
The YouTube rivals have been on an apparent collision course for years, ever since KSI took on Jake's elder brother Logan in 2018. Both men have since pursued professional boxing careers with Paul fighting the tougher opposition - but both men lost to Tommy Fury this year.
Those defeats appeared to signal the end of Paul and KSI's dreams of establishing themselves as 'real' boxers, but Paul is ploughing on and will take on little-known Andre August in Florida on Friday night in a fight which has attracted little attention.
KSI, meanwhile, has failed to commit to fighting again, but is taking on YouTube rival IShowSpeed in a sparring session tonight, at the same time as Paul walks to the ring for his ninth professional fight. Should Paul lose, he is unlikely to continue his pursuit of a world title, opening the door to his return to fighting social media stars and MMA fighters.
A fight with KSI would make sense for next spring or summer with Wembley likely to sell out if the pair can agree terms - but that is proving almost impossible. This week, Paul made a new offer to his rival which would see the winner earn the entire $50million fight purse.
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Paul's business partner Nakisa Bidarian fired back at comments made by KSI's promoter Mams Taylor by accepting their proposed weight of 180lb. "Jake Paul has never fought below 185 pounds. KSI has fought as heavy as 193 pounds and just fought Tommy Fury at 183 pounds, where he claims he won," Bidarian wrote.
Who would win; Jake Paul or KSI? Let us know in the comments section below
"Jake will fight at 180 pounds, assuming it is a true winner takes all. KSI’s team has said KSI can’t do that because he doesn’t control Misfits. Solution, which we offered previously - the purse is $25M for each fighter. Winner takes purse of other fighter ($50M). Jake is the A-side, but will happily come to the UK, let KSI put his name first and have KSI walk second on fight night if the fight is at 185 pounds. If not at 185 - then the fight is not in the UK."
But in response to reports Paul has failed to sell out his fight with August, KSI rowed back on any plans to fight his adversary. "Yeah, he ain’t got any hype anymore. I ain’t wasting my time to fight him lol," he wrote on social media.