Fans of YouTube star Austin McBroom are convinced that he faked a video showing him knocking a sparring partner through the ropes ahead of his boxing return on Saturday.
The family vlogger is set to face British social media star AnEsonGib in his professional debut over the weekend, with footage leaking from his camp showing him dropping an unnamed fighter in sparring. The video appears to show McBroom taking on a teammate and slipping one of their punches before countering and sending them flying.
But McBroom's reaction in the video coupled with the general scepticism of the internet led a number of fans to accuse the former college basketball standout of faking the video. He and Gib's new fight date on Saturday has attracted a lot of attention online, but has struggled to sell tickets at the Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles and fans view the video as a publicity stunt.
Influencer Bradley Martyn commented under The Bread Batch's post showing the video by joking that "This is embarrassing lol", while other fans added "I respect the try to convince us that this is not completely acted," and KSI simply laughed at the footage.
One fan believed McBroom told his sparring partner "aye bro, act like you got hurt and fall when I hit you," and other fans generally laughed off the video with comments like "How dumb does Austin think influencer boxing fans are?"
McBroom has fought once before in an exhibition with Tik Tok star Bryce Hall last year, viciously beating his rival for three rounds before the fight was mercifully stopped. Gib fought in the co-main event that night, beating Tayler Holder by unanimous decision despite the result being incorrectly read as a draw on the night.
The Saudi Arabian-born Brit has fought a total of four times already, including one professional bout where he was stopped by Jake Paul inside a round back in 2020. He had previously won two white collar fights with other YouTubers Jay Swingler and MaxPlaysFifa but didn't have enough to cause major problems for Paul, who has gone on to amass a 5-0 professional record.
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McBroom and Gib were due to fight on July 30, but there was an issue with the Brit's medicals that caused a slight postponement. There were rumours of a head injury, but it was, in fact, little more than a paperwork issue which was resolved within a few weeks and the bout was rescheduled.
The former basketball player has amassed over 25million followers across social media, with his YouTube channel his crown jewel at 18.8m. He and his wife Catherine make family vlogs with their three children showing off their lavish Los Angeles lifestyle and general home life.
AnEsonGib started off as a FIFA video game player, but fell in love with boxing during his early white collar bouts and now essentially trains full-time. He rarely posts on social media, but still commands a massive audience when he does put out content that is generally related to fighting.
