'I think he could be faking it'… Jake Paul accuses rival KSI of lying about injury to pull out of 2v1 fight against YouTube star and MMA fighter
24/08/2024 03:45
Jake Paul believes that his long-time rival KSI’s injury that cost him a return to the boxing ring may not have been legitimate.
The social media sensations have had a lengthy feud, dating back to 2018 when the British star called out both Jake and his brother Logan Paul. Ultimately, KSI and Logan ended up fighting twice, first ending in a draw before their rematch ended in a split decision for the Englishman.
Jake vowed to avenge his brother, but the pair’s planned meeting in 2020 was scuppered by the coronavirus pandemic. Ever since, their teams have been at loggerheads in negotiations and it appears the super-fight may never happen.
- Who is Jake Paul? Get to know the YouTuber-turned-boxing sensation as he prepares to fight Mike Tyson
Jake Paul says KSI fight is being delayed over weight dispute
Both Jake Paul and KSI have made their demands clear for the fight to happen, although these have fluctuated over the years. At one point, the Brit was willing to go up as high as almost 200lb to face Logan, but has since cut down and is more comfortable in the 180lb range.
Meanwhile, Jake was at one point getting down to 183lb, but has since moved to heavyweight to face Mike Tyson. And he even needed the towel just to come in at 199lb for his last outing against Mike Perry after cutting from a reported 230lb.
And speaking with Bloody Elbow at a media appearance for PFL’s October 19 Battle of the Giants show, Paul said of the KSI fight: “I think it’s just down to weight now because I’m so much heavier and KSI also says he’s walking around at 205.
“That’s what his coach said on an interview so you know, that’s the truth. I’m walking around at like 215. So I think it’s just a weight thing. I think it’s like 195-200lbs and that’s really the last thing in the way. Well, that’s what we said to him.
“We said this is a cruiserweight fight unless we go down to 175. But I can’t get down there by any means. So we just said cruiserweight, professional cruiserweight fight, take it or leave it.”
KSI refuses to meet Jake Paul’s weight demands for grudge fight
While KSI has come in at the cruiserweight limit before, he is much closer to the frame of a light-heavyweight. He tipped the scales as low as 175lb for his fight with Faze Temperrr last year, and even at the 181.5lb he came in for his fight against Tommy Fury, he claims he struggled to stay heavy.
In a YouTube video today, he told Paul of the proposed 195lb catchweight: “No. I’m just not doing that. 185lb is the same as Tommy Fury, okay. If you can’t make it, then cool. I’l just wait. Enjoy fighting heavyweights.
“Continue fighting heavyweights, brother. You’re not a heavyweight, okay. If you want to continue fighting heavyweight, be my guest! I’ll just be in my own lane, do my own thing.
“And when you decide to finally man up or by force, essentially, because there’s only so many heavyweights you can fight until you actually have to fight a real boxer. Yeah, I’ll be here waiting.”
Jake Paul claims KSI faked an injury to get out of 2v1 comeback fight
KSI had been due to headline Misfits 17 next Saturday in Dublin, facing a tag team with two lesser-known rivals. He was set to take on unbeaten YouTube boxer Slim Albaher and former Bellator star Anthony Taylor in a rare 2v1 bout, but pulled out with an unspecified hand injury.
Paul and Taylor were once sparring partners during the build-up to his first fight with Tyron Woodley in 2021, but now the MMA fighter plies his trade as a Misfits Boxing champion. “I didn’t even know that they were even really still fighting,” Paul replied when asked about the pullout.
“I thought it was a 2v1, but I mean, there was not any noise around that s*** anyways. I feel like he could be faking it, but I didn’t even realise it was actually happening.”
Asked if he felt that his old teammate would have beaten KSI, Paul replied: “I don’t know, he’s kind of just, like, sloppy but I think that Slim would beat KSI. In a two-on-one? I don’t know, he should just fight Slim.”
