Doctor Mike has explained why he chose to face a seasoned MMA veteran in his professional boxing debut rather than a fellow YouTube star.
The family medicine physician, whose real name is Mike Varshavski, looks to pick up his first professional win in the ring when he fights Chris Avila on the undercard of Jake Paul vs Anderson Silva later this month. Varshavski already has a win under his belt having competed in his exhibition debut against fellow content creator Ian 'IDubbbz' Carter in May, dominating the five-round fight to win a one-sided decision.
Varshavski's opponent on October 29 is Chris Avila, an MMA veteran and close teammate of UFC legend Nate Diaz. Avila, who holds an MMA record of 8-9, outpointed Paul's sparring partner Anthony Taylor on the undercard of the YouTuber's knockout win against Tyron Woodley last December. Varshavski said he wanted to challenge himself against a real fighter instead of a fellow YouTuber in his pro debut.
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"I'm really appreciative of him [Avila] giving me the opportunity to fight someone as seasoned as he is," Varshavski told Mirror Fighting . "I could have fought other YouTubers and gone that whole influencer boxing route, but really I want to test myself and put my abilities to a serious challenge to see if my trainer is talking me up or does he really believe I'm ready for the fight game.
"I wanted to challenge myself and I felt like that challenge was only going to come from someone who is either extremely athletic, like a pro athlete, or a pro fighter like Chris Avila. I wanted that challenge and the guys I'm sparring in my gym are either pro athletes or amateur athletes with a lot of fight experience."
Avila will have a significant size disadvantage despite being vastly more experienced than Varshavski, as the MMA fighter will give up five inches in height to the YouTube star. The fight will take place at 185lb despite Avila having fought as low as 145lb during his MMA career, with Varshavski adding that he feels ready to challenge a professional fighter despite only having stepped in the ring once before.
"I feel like I'm ready for this calibre of fight and my trainer who I trust my life to says I'm ready for it," he added. "I'm really excited for October 29th to be able to show the world that there are some YouTubers who are doing this for clout, just to step in the ring and say they've done it. But we are trying to respect the game, put in that real work and show that we are respectful fighters."
