Opinion | Eddie Hearns signing KSI-Logan Paul Los Angeles rematch is either boxing clever for the sport’s future or a punch line
- World champion Billie Joe Saunders on the undercard for rematch between rival YouTube stars on November 9
- Last fight generated a reported US$190 million and 18,000 fans in Manchester, with this set to be even bigger
Boxing used to be front page – never mind back page – news. There are those with their heads in the sand but Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn is not among them.
Hearn, one of the biggest promoters in the business, is not willing to wait for boxing to die on him. How else do you explain his involvement in the rematch between rival YouTube stars KSI and Logan Paul?
He admits he had his head turned at their initial fight back in August last year. While he was initially dismissive, he saw that more than 18,000 fans turned up to watch it at the Manchester Arena and 800,000 more purchased the pay-per-view.
“Thirteen months ago when the first fight took place I smirked and pondered how embarrassing it would be to stage this event in a 20,000-seat arena,” Hearn said. “What I saw was a phenomenon – a sold-out arena, over one million pay-per-view buys but more importantly an energy of a new audience to the sport of boxing.”
Demand has not diminished, based on the 4,000 who attended the press conference for the new fight last week.