THE YOUTUBE rematch between KSI and Logan Paul only drew a mediocre 216,000 buys on UK pay-per-view.
British internet star KSI – real name Olajide William Olatunji – beat rival Paul by split-decision in Los Angeles on their pro boxing debuts.
KSI vs Logan Paul 2 did not sell well on the UK PPV marketCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The social media battle was shown on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and sports streaming service DAZN Stateside.
Despite promoter Eddie Hearn revealing KSI’s win was watched more times on DAZN than Anthony Joshua’s shock loss to Andy Ruiz Jr – the UK viewing figures were not so healthy.
Sky Sports even reduced the normal PPV cost down from £19.99 to £9.95 – due to the 5am fight featuring two boxing novices.
The box office flop came a month after the thrilling super-lightweight unification bout between Josh Taylor and Regis Prograis only sold 176,000 PPV’s.
Joshua’s US debut defeat was purchased by 562,000 Sky customers, but the anticipated rematch on December 7 in Saudi Arabia is due to be a massive commercial success.
The ring walk is expected to take place just after 8.30pm – with AJ fighting for his career.
Joshua holds the record for most UK PPV’s sold – with his 2017 unification showdown against Wladimir Klitschko doing 1,532,000 buys.
Box office king Floyd Mayweather holds the top two global records of all time, selling 4.6m in 2015 for his hotly-anticipated showdown with Manny Pacquiao and 4.4m against UFC star Conor McGregor.
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The two historic fights were also a success in the UK, with Pacman selling 876,000 PPV’s and McGregor just short with 874,000.
But the former pound-for-pound king’s highest-selling PPV clash in the UK was against Brit hero Ricky Hatton in 2007.
Hatton’s round 10 KO defeat sold 1,150,000 back home.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
