YouTube star-turned-boxer KSI, whose real name is Olajide Olatunji, has officially confirmed his retirement from boxing, putting an end to any possibility of a long-awaited bout with rival Jake Paul.
A trailblazer in influencer boxing, KSI first captured global attention in 2018 following his blockbuster fight against Logan Paul, which generated over a million pay-per-view buys. He later went on to establish Misfits Boxing, a promotion that created opportunities for YouTubers and social media personalities to compete professionally.
However, after a five-fight spell between 2022 and 2023 that produced a 3-1-1 record, KSI admitted he no longer had the passion to continue in the sport.
Speaking on The Ranveer Show, KSI described the intense demands of boxing, saying: “I’d say the training, how physically and mentally draining it is, it’s just like nothing else.
“I’d say of everything I’ve done in my life, that is the hardest thing … By the seventh or eighth week, you’re like, ‘Why am I doing this? I hate this. This is horrible. I’m getting beat up. I don’t even want to get up anymore.’”
He also detailed the toll the sport took on his health: “I fell ill, like, my body is starting to shut down because you’re just feeling sick. But you just have to fight through it. Every day, the same thing over and over and over again. That’s physically. Mentally, you’re just cooked.”
According to KSI, the emotional swings of boxing were equally exhausting. “You win? Fantastic. Best feeling ever. Euphoric. You’re over the moon,” he said. “You lose? ‘What a waste of my f–king time. What a waste. I literally spent 12 weeks of my life killing myself to not get the result I wanted.’”
On the long-discussed fight with Jake Paul, KSI revealed that despite being offered huge sums to make it happen, negotiations repeatedly broke down over excuses and weight disagreements.
“My main goal when I got into the boxing ring again was to fight Jake Paul and build Misfits,” he said. “Time and time and time again, it’s just excuse after excuse after excuse … I think I tried to build up again to try and fight Jake again, and then he was just getting heavier and heavier, trying to move the goal posts when it comes to weight. It got to the point where it was like, ‘What am I doing? I’m done.’”
He added: “I’ve been offered $20 million to fight Jake Paul, $30 million to fight Jake Paul. These guys can’t give me any amount of money to fight this guy. When it comes to boxing, I’m done.”
KSI stressed that financial rewards were never his driving force. “My fight with Tommy Fury… all the money I made, I gave it to my trainers. All of it. For me, I don’t do stuff for this,” he said.
Reflecting on missed opportunities, he noted that he was ready to face Jake Paul but ended up fighting Tommy Fury instead after Paul chose to fight Nate Diaz.
With boxing now behind him, KSI plans to focus on music, business, and expanding his entertainment empire. Although the anticipated clash with Jake Paul may never materialise, his influence in taking influencer boxing into the mainstream remains undeniable.