- How much of this do you feel is a show?
- [Chris] This is a mockery of pro fighting.
- Hey, Aria, from BuzzFeed.
- Let's have some boxing questions, please.
- That's what I'm saying, not one question?
No one has a single question?
- I gotta question.
- [Announcer] And third judge has it, 57 57.
It is a majority draw.
- For someone who works at a media company,
I am still embarrassingly baffled
by YouTuber and influencer culture.
In a world driven by social media and followers,
these personalities are able to build
these almost cult-like fandoms
that will basically buy into anything they do.
And we have a perfect example here in LA, in a few days,
when YouTubers KSI and Logan Paul square-off
in a boxing rematch at the STAPLES center.
In what is not only going to be a viral event,
but what is sure to be a huge payday for the both of them.
I'm gonna be straight up, front with you,
how much of this do you feel is a show?
- In terms of, you know, show,
I believe they're meaning every word they say.
They want to end the other.
They want to show that they are number one.
I, you know I don't believe that any of that is set up.
Part of the reason why I'm particularly invested
in this project is that earlier this year
I trained and fought in an amateur MMA fight.
I remember speaking and interviewing
these different fighters who made it very clear
that a fighter's life is a very poor one.
I've made zero dollars and zero cents fighting.
Moving on to getting paid,
or maybe barely breaking even is what I want to do.
You train twice a day, three times a day, every day,
for months, years on end.
And you still might not even get your break.
There's no money in this stuff, you know?
It's enough to keep the lights on, that's cool.
I feel for them, in a way,
when I hear about fighters that have come out
and criticized Logan Paul and KSI.
- I find it almost insulting to everybody
that has dedicated their life to being a fighter.
Come up the hard way, and these two come in.
They're almost making a mockery out of the sport.
- In many ways, I feel like this whole event is kind
of emblematic of my gripes against influencer culture,
where these two popular personalities,
who just throw themselves at STAPLES Center
in a main event in a sport
where people have spent their entire lives toiling over
for a dream that these two guys get to live out
for pure entertainment value, and possibly a quick buck.
But I know you kind of just disagree though, Jack, right?
- I don't fully disagree.
I completely get what you're saying
and I understand people's frustrations,
but if they have the fans and the popularity
to sell out the STAPLES Center, like why shouldn't they?
- Aria, what's up, brotha?
Good to see you again.
I do understand why guys who dedicated their whole lives
to something could feel frustrated that, in a way,
these guys are jumping the queue.
Most of the high-level boxers today,
they started by junior high school, if not earlier.
I'm anxious to see, you know,
what they can do and how they look.
- We have passes so we're gonna get a closer look at things.
The other fighters on the card are getting in first,
and I think, as the sun sets and the night goes on,
eventually KSI and Logan Paul will be in there.
- Five vans just pulled up so it's a big squad comin' in.
- Logan's walking in.
This is quite a hoard that I've gathered here.
Good God!
Oh, sorry, the security people are animals.
- You got pushed.
- [Announcer] Ladies and gentlemen,
the Maverick, Logan Paul!
(crowd boos)
- When Logan Paul got into the ring,
the first thing I noticed was that he drops his jab.
He's really, kinda like, flicking his punches.
Very common in early fighters.
You're leavin' your face open for the right hand.
So, look, they've got the foam pads.
The coach is clearly missing wide,
and showing him what's coming.
I would not be happy about this.
if I were the coach of a fight at this level.
So at some point during Logan's workout,
KSI walked up on to the corner.
That's something that wouldn't be allowed,
unless they were looking to have a competition.
- Do some punching, I wanna see some punching.
- I don't think I've ever seen it happen in an open workout.
It's usually at the face off.
- You ain't ready to do nothin', shut up!
- Publicity stunt.
If you didn't want that to happen,
you would've kept KSI's team back
until Logan's team got out of the ring.
They set that (beep) up to increase the hype for the fight.
The biggest thing that I think was confirmed is
that these are not professional boxers.
His hips aren't turning all the way over.
It's mostly arm punches.
His chin's up in the air.
That's very dangerous.
I thought it was very unusual
to see KSI come out with therapy bands.
I've never seen a fighter
lift physical therapy bands in an open workout, never.
This is a first.
This is kinda like watching
a children's yoga class right now.
I wouldn't even call these guys decent amateur boxers.
And I don't think it's fair to expect them to be,
so, you know, it's not a knock.
These guys look to me about where you looked
before you went into your fight.
They're still very early in the learning curve.
It's really not fair to be,
you know, comparing them to pro fighters.
It's just not.
How legitimate is it as a fight?
You know, it's not.
These are not two guys who people should be paying
fifty to a hundred dollars to watch.
I mean, this is a mockery of pro fighting.
I could see why pro fighters would be bitter about it,
but it's evolution, it's technology.
There's no fighting social media.
That's become such an essential part of our world.
This is what it is.
It's two guys who are good at getting attention,
not two guys who are good at boxing.
- [Luke] I mean, if you consider it's a nothing fight.
I mean these dudes don't know how to fight,
let's be clear about that.
They have promoted it very well,
like I know a good fight promotion when I see it.
- It's Thursday now, we're two days out from the fight,
and we're here for the press conference.
We've brought along this thing, to add some legitimacy.
I don't normally like using it,
but I guess there's a first time for everything.
- [Eric] Hardcore fans of boxing look at this and say,
this is the absolute worst thing that could happen.
This is a sideshow.
The other side of that coin is,
it brings more eyes to the sport.
It brings more casual fans to the sport.
And like it or not, that's what we want.
We want more people watching.
- One perspective I didn't consider until today was,
of course, the fact that yeah,
these are two YouTubers that are taking the top spot
in a professional boxing card,
but they are bringing more eyes onto the sport.
They're giving a platform for these other fighters
that will have millions of eyes on it.
And is that a bad thing for the sport?
- We know that there's
a whole new audience coming to this spot on Saturday night,
and the main need for us is to make sure
that this audience gets to fall in love
with all the things that we fell in love with,
with this sport of boxing.
- [Aria] KSI has arrived.
- [Luke] You think these two guys can fight?
They can't fight for (beep), but it doesn't matter.
What matters is that they have sold a story,
they're trying, you can give 'em credit for trying,
and they could generate a huge audience.
- We've actually been invited to go speak with Logan Paul.
I can't be too aggressive with my questions,
because if not, they may just, you know,
take away our media pass.
Hey, Aria, from BuzzFeed.
Gotta be smart about it.
- [Jack] Maybe get into position for what you need.
- Ah, BuzzFeed.
- Hey, Aria, nice to meet you. - How are ya, how are ya?
- Thank you for having us. - Do ya need help?
- Honestly, speaking with Logan,
it was a lot different than I expected.
Despite what preconceived notions I had of him,
he was a very nice guy.
- Can I stand to this side? - Yeah, sure, don't mind.
He seemed genuine, you know?
- No, no stunt.
Sort of done with the fake shit.
I had that era on YouTube where everything was clickbait,
and I would just say things to say things, not anymore.
- He's claimed that after his past controversies,
that boxing kinda saved him.
And that's something that I, I kinda relate to, right?
I mean, for a long time, before I trained for my fight,
I felt kind of directionless.
- I shot myself in the foot.
I was deep, deep, deep in a dark hole,
and to be honest, I don't know what I would have done
if I literally didn't fight my way out of it.
- [Aria] I mean you guys have been granted an opportunity
here that so many fighters would dream to have.
Do you take this opportunity lightly?
- Absolutely not, we're both well aware of that,
that's why we've been training as hard as we possibly can.
Boxing was, uh, it was slowing down a bit.
It was the taxi business, and JJ and I are Uber.
- We're gonna hurt you.
You're gonna get beat up really bad.
I told Logan, if you don't put this man
in a hospital, somethin' wrong.
- Press conference was wild.
The coaches were going at it,
Logan and KSI were going at it.
My mind's in a bit of a weird place right now,
because I won't lie, I was very very entertained.
Jack, you were havin' a great time too.
- Yeah.
- You don't know anything when it comes to anything.
You strike me as a dumb person.
- At the end of the conference,
they opened it up for people to ask any questions.
And nobody asked anything.
- No one has a single question?
- No one wants any questions?
Unreal, unreal!
- And I definitely had my fair share of questions,
so I thought, what the hell?
I gotta question, I got a question.
- Yes?
This is a big event, main event, STAPLES Center,
you guys are fighting on top of a card,
you've got champion fighters on the card,
you guys are making your pro debuts.
Do you guys feel a sense of responsibility
with this platform that you've been given,
to the sport, and do you feel you've earned
your place there at the top of the card?
- Good question.
- Great question.
I know what it's like to be a pro fighter, and it's tough.
I, you know, I've told myself,
I don't think I could do this.
But you know what?
I realized, I can do this.
You know, I am a dog.
I am a fighter.
- [Eric] You're talking about guys who've had
20 million subscribers on YouTube, each.
No matter what these guys decide to do,
it's gonna be a big deal.
So they've decided to put on a fight.
Why can, why should we be mad about it?
- [Luke] You know I saw your debut,
it was not at STAPLES Center,
but I can tell you one thing about it.
I've been covering combat sports for, you know,
fifteen years.
That's the real thing, what you did.
That is the real thing.
That is what it looks like at that level.
Earning their keep.
And the reality is, they're not gonna turn this
into some kind of career.
You box anybody at a decent pro-level,
they're gonna (beep) them up, man.
I take it for what it is.
It's two guys who trained hard
for something that they seem to care a lot about.
People want to see it, you know, let 'er rip.
- (beep) Logan Paul!
- Your mother provided you a wonderful surprise,
you guys are here to see Logan Paul vs KSI.
You're a Maverick, as I can tell!
- Maverick.
- Your first time at the STAPLES Center,
and you're here for Logan Paul.
You came here from Mexico? For this?
Who are you guys big fans of?
- Logan Paul.
- Logan. - Logan Paul.
- No I disagree with that. - You're a KSI boy?
- I'm a KSI fan.
- You don't really care who wins.
- No (laughs) not at all.
- I mean it's crazy to see
there are so many young kids here.
All right, Jack, how're you feelin?
- I'm good, I'm excited, are you?
- I'm looking forward to the fight.
It's definitely a very interesting cultural milestone.
Two YouTubers, two influencers
at the top of a professional boxing card,
at the STAPLES Center.
It's gonna be an interesting night for sure.
- [Announcer] By split decision of the United Kingdom
(crowd cheers)
- (sighs) What a time.
I don't know what to say, I'm exhausted!
- That was fun though.
- They're not professional fighters
who do this for a living.
But the reality is they've gotten in here,
they've fought their hearts out.
And so I do think they deserve, ya know,
more credit than I gave them.
- I think it's kinda like your fight.
If you didn't work for BuzzFeed,
would you have been able to get the training you did,
or get one of the main fights on the fight you did?
I mean, that was a big promotion.
- Can't argue that.
I think it's all perspective, isn't it, in the end?
I came into this week, not caring about these two guys,
not caring about this fight at all,
but moments before the bell rang,
when I saw them in the ring facing each other
I felt like,
- You got the anxiety.
- I felt the anxiety for them.
When I stepped into the cage,
I remember the nerves went away.
As soon as the bell rang, the nerves went away,
but the moments leading up to it were just,
it was, it just seemed like forever.
And I just felt those nerves again for some reason tonight,
and I wasn't even fighting.
- Your journey and your experience are so recent,
that I think it's not at all surprising
that you were able to kinda instantly identify
with what they were feeling.
It's a ring, and it's you, and it's another guy,
and you guys are going head-to-head.
Really doesn't matter if there's one person watching
or a million people watching, you know?
You got that again a little bit
without actually having to go in there.
Maybe that will get your (beep) back in the gym.
(laughs)
- There's no one big conclusion to it all.
I think social media will always have it's pros and cons.
But I guess I definitely leave this week
with a lot more respect for what they did.
- [Jack] When are you gonna fight again?
- If this were a movie right now,
this would end with me getting up out of this couch,
walking over to my glove over there,
taking it out of it's case, and it coming to black.
But I'm too tired to go up there.
(upbeat music)