KSI and Jake Paul's super-fight contract could include a controversial rehydration clause, despite both men having fights cancelled over weight issues.
The YouTube stars are on a collision course for a bout which could become one of the biggest pay-per-view bouts of all time, presuming they remain unbeaten. They are eyeing up a December date, with KSI set to fight twice, including this Saturday when he faces Faze Temperrr in a late-notice replacement fight.
Paul and KSI's feud started in 2018 when the Brit called out both Jake and his brother Logan, eventually fighting the elder and quitting the sport to focus on two chart-topping albums and a slew of businesses before returning last year. In the meantime, Jake turned professional and began tearing through opponents, including KO wins over MMA legends Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley.
And speaking with Mirror Fighting ahead of his next fight, KSI detailed exactly how the contract would be structured. He boasted of being a bigger star in almost every metric to justify the A-Side tag, which Paul has never given up in his career, before joking that he might "slap" a rehydration clause into the deal.
"Weight-wise, I'd love it to be 176lb, 177lb, but 180lb sounds perfectly fair," he said, before making a tongue-in-cheek remark about adding a clause in which Paul, the naturally bigger man, would have to make an agreed-upon weight a second time on fight day. "Maybe even slap a rehydration clause - I know he'd want that!
"It has to be in the UK, I think I'm definitely the A-Side, I walk second, ring size I think it should be a nice 20-foot ring and I think that's it that's on my mind. I'm sure there's other things money-wise that Mams [Taylor, his manager] and Nakisa [Bidarian, Paul's manager] can deal with. 50-50 seems fair. I don't think it should be 60-40 in anyone's favour or anything. 50-50 makes sense."
Do you believe that KSI's contract offer is fair to Jake Paul? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
The deal for a fight of the magnitude of KSI vs Jake Paul will be a huge test for Taylor and Bidarian, with both men holding a legitimate claim to the A-side tag. Paul is, by all traditional metrics, the better boxer; having landed KO wins over massive names with decades of fight experience while KSI has yet to face an opponent with a fighting background beyond YouTube boxing, aside from journeyman Luis Pineda.
But in terms of celebrity, particularly if the fight lands at a massive UK venue, KSI is far and away the bigger star; garnering millions of views on every video he releases across countless channels without fail and frequently releasing top 10 singles. His last two albums went No.2 and No.1 in the official charts, and three of his recent singles have been nominated for BRIT Awards.
It is expected that both men will make tens of millions from the bout, with broadcaster likely to clamour for the rights and tickets expected to sell out in minutes. They are both planning to stay active throughout the year before meeting in December to finally settle the feud.
