Joe Fournier has promised to leave YouTube star KSI "twitching on the floor" when he knocks him out in their pay-per-view fight on May 13 in London.
Fournier is 9-0 as a professional boxer, and has previously held a ranking with the WBA at light-heavyweight as well as an international title. He is viewed as a major step up in competition for the UK's biggest social media star, who has previously faced YouTubers, rappers and a journeyman fighter as a short-notice replacement.
KSI has been taking to social media to show off his intensive training, while Fournier appears to still be enjoying his life in Miami, taking in the nightlife after training during the day. However, that hasn't deflated the Londoner's confidence, and he believes that it will be a dominant win in their Wembley meeting.
"This is as big as it gets," Fournier told the Misfits Boxing YouTube channel. "It's pay-per-view at Wembley, five minutes from where I grew up and it's against one of the biggest global superstars in the world right now. That's not just in boxing, but in music and social platforms.
"I'm the bad guy because I'm going to break all those little hearts when they see him on the canvas unconscious, twitching on the floor after being severely, severely hurt by me. Then I'll really be the bad guy and I'm going to have absolutely no fans, but there it is."
Fournier insists that he has taken a poor deal for the fight, that includes an intense weight cut to 180lb and a 10lb rehydration clause as well as unfavourable amounts of tickets. He also claims that his payout wouldn't fund his private jet travel to and from his home in Miami to the bout.
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His last professional fight was two years ago against Reggaeton singer Reykon on the undercard of Jake Paul vs Ben Askren, although he did go the distance with David Haye in a September 2021 exhibition. Prior to that, he had served a suspension for using a banned substance in his WBA international title fight.
He recently teamed up with Jake Paul to send a trolling message to his rival. "Guess who's here?" Fournier can be seen asking in an Instagram video before panning his phone over to Paul, who jokingly says "hey KSI, it's your dads." The Brit then asks "who's going to win?" To which Paul replies "You, bro. 100 per cent.
"KSI, I think he's going to bring a tough fight but he hasn't gone up against anybody at your level. That's just facts." There is then a brief cut in the footage, before it comes back to Paul saying that he is "going to leave [KSI] on the ground," before the pair appear to agree to a bout afterwards.
