ADAM SALEH is the YouTube star who stars on Jake Paul’s undercard after missing out on a fight with Patrice Evra.
The vlogger from New York – with Yemeni heritage – boxes in his second professional bout on Sunday in Saudi Arabia.
He crossed over from influencer boxing last September and drew against Landon McBroom after giving away a STONE in weight.
Saleh faces California’s Stuart Kellogg – nicknamed Evil Hero – at light-welterweight on the night of Paul’s grudge match with Tommy Fury.
His relationship with manager Amer Abdallah – now the head of boxing in Saudi – and fanbase in region saw his afforded the pay-per-view spot.
Saleh told SunSport: “My main viewer base in the Middle East is in Saudi Arabia, so it made a lot of sense.
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“Yeah, I’m an influencer but I feel like I’m the best influencer boxer out there.”
Saleh, 29, shot to fame for a viral dance which made it onto Ellen DeGeneres’ chat show.
And he did so with an amateur boxing background, having had 14 unbeaten bouts.
But another popular video of his – this time a STREET FIGHT with boxing gloves – landed him in hot water.
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It saw his amateur boxing licence stripped but at the cost of millions of online hits.
Saleh said: “It was a random video, I was filming something else for my YouTube channel and I saw someone boxing in the street in New York square.
“He was challenging people and I thought, ‘Let me go down there and box him.’ I ended up knocking him down twice.
“I boxed someone else after and it got over 20million views on YouTube. This was before KSI and Logan Paul started boxing.
“The video just blew up and then I made another one and it continued. I’ve always been a fighter at heart.”
Saleh, 29, was the shock name Manchester United legend Evra, 41, agreed to fight in April of last year.
But the whole show was axed at the last minute – leaving the bout facing the KO forever.
Saleh said: “I spoke with Evra’s team and I don’t know, I think they’re waiting for the right event.
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“I’d love to fight Patrice Evra, I think it’s a great fight. I feel like he got scared and backed out.
“But I would love to fight Patrice, he’s definitely on my hitlist. We can’t just announce a fight and not make it happen.”
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Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
