EDDIE HEARN has claimed KSI vs Logan Paul II was the highest-selling UK pay-per-view of the year, beating Anthony Joshua’s crushing world title defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr.
British star KSI won the battle to become YouTube king after his narrow points win over his American rival on Saturday night in LA.
KSI’s fight with Logan Paul became DAZN’s most-viewed PPV fight everCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Their rematch was massively hyped up and Sky Sports even made it a pay-per-view event to reap the profits.
Matchroom boss Hearn promoted the pair for the bout, with both KSI and Logan turning professional for the fight, and he has now revealed the huge success of the highly-anticipated match.
He told Sirius XM’s Fight Nation: “The first fight did 1.2m pay-per-view buys globally. This was much, much bigger this time around.
“It’s the biggest pay-per-view in the UK of the year so far. That includes the first Joshua-Ruiz Jr fight from America. This fight was cheaper, was half the price of that.
“I believe DAZN will announce some numbers this week but I understand it was the most-viewed fight on DAZN so far.
“It was a big subscription driver as well. It wasn’t just those two key territories, it was all those other little territories.
“When we look at the breakdown on Fite TV, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Europe, Africa – it was everywhere.
“You don’t realise the audience these guys have. They brought our sport to reach new ground and reach new territories, new demographics and new markets.”
It’s the biggest pay-per-view in the UK of the year so far. They brought our sport to reach new ground.
Eddie Hearn on KSI v Logan Paul II
KSI’s win over Logan was so popular that more than 11,000 people even watched the fight through the reflection of a man’s glasses.
In contrast, Hearn admitted early this year that AJ’s first bout with Ruiz, where the Brit was heavy favourite to continue his unbeaten record, failed to shift 500,000 pay-per-view buys.
However, that fight was charged at a rate of £19.95, compared to the £9.95 listed for KSI v Paul.
Joshua does, however, hold the record for most UK PPV’s sold – with his unification showdown against Wladimir Klitschko doing 1,532,000 buys.
PPV 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.
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 greatest PPV clash in the UK was against Brit hero Ricky Hatton in 2007, with 1.15m subscribers back home.
Tommy Fury calls out KSI for huge celebrity fight next year after YouTuber’s win over Logan Paul
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
