YouTube star Alex Wassabi has told fans he is "not scared of death" as he edges closer to a hard-hitting boxing match with KSI.
The American social media sensation will move up around 18lb from his preferred fighting weight to tip the scales around 180lb for his August 27 bout with his rival at The O2 arena. Despite being a heavy underdog for the bout due to his size and relative inexperience, Wassabi believes he has trained sufficiently to pull off an upset.
And part of his reasoning for his success, he argues, is a solid mindset that includes his insistence that he is not afraid of death. Boxers must be fearless going into the ring at any level, from YouTube exhibition bouts all the way up to heavyweight title fights, as there is always a risk of things going too far.
Ahead of his first fully professional fight with six rounds of three minutes, Wassabi explained his thinking around his future after he faces KSI. Speaking with The WADE Concept, he detailed how he feels he will get the job done despite the risky weight difference.
"The last camp I did every single interview was like 'oh, the whole world's against you, nobody thinks you're going to beat Deji [KSI's brother], you're going to a hostile environment,' and the whole stadium was against me," he said. "But I've been training. I do everything I can, I do everything my coach says. He says 'do one more round,' I do one more round, my strength coach says 'do another set,' then we're doing another set. I'm doing everything I can possibly do.
"It's like my view on death, I'm not scared of death. People will ask me 'but why' and it's just that I know in my mind and my heart that if I was going to do I'm going to do everything possible not to die. So I already know that, then why would I be scared of death? If it's going to happen, it's going to happen and I have no control over it. I'm going to try not to, but if it does then it's the same way with life. I just do everything I possible can and that's all I can do."
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Wassabi has already faced a particularly hostile crowd when he travelled to London to face KSI's younger brother Deji back in March at Showstar Boxing's debut event. He was harassed on the streets by fans and given minimal chance of victory, but he came out with a comfortable win despite the judges giving a split decision.
Now, he faces a considerably bigger challenge in the elder Olatunji sibling. KSI stopped Joe Weller in his 2018 boxing debut before a series of fights with Logan Paul, with whom he drew before turning professional and beating a year later. He hasn't fought since 2019, and has been focusing on his rap career, but is still a dangerous prospect and looks in the shape of his life.
