YouTube star Rashed 'Money Kicks' Belhasa was defeated by a man who had been knocked out in his three professional fights as he made his debut on the Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua 2 undercard.
Belhasa, who was in talks over having an exhibition bout with Floyd Mayweather earlier this year in his native Dubai, is a huge social media star in the Middle East. He had competed in two exhibition bouts on his own Social Knockout promotion last year, but made the step up to the professional ranks in Saudi Arabia.
And despite taking on a journeyman in Traycho Georgiev who had been stopped within two rounds in his first two fights, Belhasa couldn't get his punches off and struggled over the four three-minute rounds. His previous outings had been two-minute rounds, with his last one only going a few seconds before he landed a knockout over Ajmal Khan.
Fans were expecting an explosive performance this afternoon to open the show in Jeddah, with a number of world level competitors competing later in the night. But Georgiev showed his experience as a legitimate, if not particularly talented, boxer and was able to control the pace.
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Belhasa had been training hard in Dubai, weighing in at 147lb for his first professional outing, and was hoping to impress fans and continue his boxing journey. But he found the three-minute rounds difficult, and despite earning a 39-37 score on one card, the other two judges had it the reverse.
Heading into this afternoon's bout, Belhasa had been flirting with a prospective match-up against Jarvis Khattri, a famous British YouTube star, or TikTok sensation Bryce Hall. But he will need to build momentum again, likely on the YouTube exhibition circuit, before getting back on the big shows.
The social media star was called Dubai's richest teenager up to this year when he turned 20, and is known for flaunting his exorbitant wealth online. He made the switch to boxing last year when he faced Anas El Shayb, who he defeated by decision in his exhibition debut before stopping Khan in his second outing.
