YouTube star KSI began his return to the boxing ring with a thunderous second round knockout over rap rival Swarmz.
The duo were once friends when they recorded the single Houdini in 2020 and became bitter enemies over disputes with the promotion. They settled that feud in the ring tonight at a sold out O2 arena in London, with KSI dropping his rival within seconds.
Swarmz was able to beat the 10 count, but was struggling from the first bell, spending most of his time desperately trying to avoid the onslaught of his opponent and he was again on the canvas with a slip towards the end of the round. Fans were surprised in their own right to see the musician even make it out of the opening stanza, although he landed barely any offence after struggling to get off his stool.
KSI had him down again within seconds, and the bout was waved off much to the delight of the capacity London crowd. The Watford native hardly broke a sweat and bowed to the fans before congratulating his opponent on a solid outing after just two weeks of boxing training.
Swarmz had come in flabby for his weigh-in after just scraping by the cruiserweight limit, and looked every bit the fighter who had never trained as recently as a month ago. He was loudly booed throughout the event after walking to the ring to a KSI diss track he had penned days prior, and even after a valiant first round, he was still given a negative reception.
The YouTuber was supposed to face Alex Wassabi tonight, but the American pulled out on three weeks’ notice, forcing the rapper in as a replacement. KSI has also added in Mexican journeyman Luis Pineda for the main event, who he will face in a few hours after taking no damage at all in his opening bout.
Were you impressed with KSI's win over Swarmz? Let us know in the comments section below
"He was moving a fair bit," KSI said after the bout. "Doing little swirly bits. Once he felt my power he was like ‘oh,’ but I got the knockout and now I’ll move on to the next one - ladies and gentlemen thank you very much and I’ll be back in a bit!"
KSI's participation in the main event is subject to a doctor's approval, which is almost certain to arrive. He took almost no punches, and has no cuts or visible injuries that would stop him facing Pineda.
