Viddal Riley has warned YouTube boxing can only go "downhill" after KSI and Jake Paul settle their long-term feud.
YouTube star KSI - real name JJ Olatunji - will make his boxing return for the first time in nearly three years when he takes on both rapper Swarmz and Luis Alcaraz Pineda at a sold out O2 arena, London. If Olatunji is to pick up two wins on the night, it will likely move him another step closer to facing YouTube foe Paul which is his ultimate goal in the sport.
Paul has fought five times as a professional but has always been open to a return to the YouTube boxing scene to face KSI. And the latter's former coach Riley believes that the meteoric rise of influencer competition could be significantly slowed once their grudge is over.
"Other fights will happen after this but that fight is the biggest in this space by far," Riley told Mirror Fighting . "There is no fight bigger and it can only go downhill from here. I think in the first fight on Saturday he needs a KO against Swarmz to show that he is ready for the fight later against Pineda and give yourself as much recovery time as possible and then again for any fight against Paul.
"This is like a first impression again and it needs to be correct." Riley worked with KSI for his two meetings with Paul's brother Logan with the high-profile rematch ending in split decision victory for the British star.
Influencer boxing has seen a remarkable increase in popularity in recent years ever since KSI's first amateur fight with YouTube rival Joe Weller. He then fought Paul in a white-collar bout that ended in a draw which attracted interest from Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn for the second fight.
Who wins - Jake Paul or KSI? Let us know in the comments section below
Hearn has since admitted the 2019 rematch is one of the most high-profile events he has put on and confirmed that the event attracted around two-million pay-per-view buys. "It was a massive learning experience for me, "Hearn said. "The live press conference had about six or seven million people watching it and the pay-per-view buys around the world were huge.
"It is a different kind of world that started to engage with us. I think it did about two million pay-per-view buys across the UK, America and around the world and these two were fantastic at engaging an audience."
It is widely anticipated that a fight between KSI and Paul would break the YouTube record, with huge interest in the pair fighting since their rivalry began after Paul defeated his brother Deji. The pair have unanimously agreed to settle the scores in a winner-takes-all bout which is expected to take place at Wembley Stadium to cater for the huge interest that would be expected to surround the fight.
