KSI has vowed to secure a stadium fight by the end of the year - and wants bitter rival Jake Paul to be in the opposite corner.
YouTube star KSI - real name JJ Olatunji - has made a return to boxing in recent months as he resumes his quest to settle his dispute with Paul. The British star will return in a bumper clash against professional fighter Joe Fournier on May 13 at Wembley Arena in the toughest test of his YouTube boxing career to date.
A win for the content creator could see him thrust into some big fights including a shot against Paul, or a potential British mega-fight with Tommy Fury. It was originally agreed Paul would step into the ring with KSI later this year on social media, as the pair decided to make public a winner-takes-all plan to fight at Wembley.
And KSI has revealed he still intends to step into a stadium fight if he progresses beyond Fournier, and has vowed to continue his pursuit of Paul at any cost. “Wembley Stadium, Cardiff Stadium, Emirates – there are venues, big venues that, I think would be awesome for us to fight in," he told Square Mile when discussing his plan for the year.
"Hopefully by the end of 2023, touch wood nothing happens, war or pandemic wise, but that’s the plan. Yeah 100%, that’s the reason why I’ve come back: to box, to fight Jake Paul and knock him out, because after I beat Logan Paul, I was like, ‘Oh, it’s done; I’ve completed it, so let me just focus on music and do all the goals that I’ve set for there.’
“I got all those goals and I was grinding, grinding, grinding, and then obviously Jake Paul was seen as this guy, people were starting to disrespect my name, being like, ‘Oh Jake Paul would destroy me in the ring, this and that,’ – and I was like, well ‘No. OK, let me show you.’ So I’ve come back into the ring and I’m going to show everyone when I fight Jake Paul that he is nothing.”
Who would you like to see KSI fight if he beats Joe Fournier? Let us know in the comments section below
Paul could make KSI wait for his shot however despite their previous agreement, given he is now set to face ex-UFC star Nate Diaz in August in his latest boxing clash. It was expected he would rematch Fury himself but his rival could now hijack the opportunity to face Fury later this year.
Other options for 'The Nightmare' this year could include a contest with the winner of the Kingpyn High Stakes tournament if he decides to continue down the social media route. In recent days, KSI also made an offer to Brazilian content creator Whindersson Nunes for a stadium fight in south America, but that is unlikely to materialise into an official capacity.
