How boxing is engaging new demographics with KSI vs Logan Paul

This weekend’s polarising rematch between YouTubers KSI and Logan Paul is opening the door for a new audience to engage with the sport of boxing according to Oddschecker data.

The fight, which will be broadcast on Sky Box Office in the UK, has been promoted by Matchroom boxing and will take place in the Staples Center, Los Angeles.

In contrast to when the pair made their first venture into boxing during an unsanctioned 2018 bout at Manchester Arena, this fight will take place under professional regulations meaning that both will wear smaller 10oz gloves, no headguards and the fight will be contested over six three minute rounds. 

In spite of many in boxing showing disdain for the event and describing it as a ‘gimmick’, Promoter Eddie Hearn has insisted that it will expand the reach of the sport and engage a new audience in boxing. 

In an interview with iFL TV, Hearn emphasised that the event has new fans ‘interacting, participating, watching and subscribing with the sport, we need to bring these fans in and turn them into hardcore fans’. 

Commenting on how many of these fans he believes will continue to engage with the sport beyond Saturday night, he added: “It could be anywhere between 5% and 20% and we are going to do over 1.5m pay-per-view buys, I believe this will be the biggest subscription driver for DAZN.” 

When asked how engagement has been compared to previous boxing events, Oddschecker’s Callum Wilson revealed that there were 190,000 page views for KSI Logan Paul 2018, which compares to 100,000 page views for Joshua v Ruiz and 412,000 page views for Wilder Fury. 

This indicates that by all measurements KSI Logan Paul II will have strong engagement numbers, even when compared to some of boxing’s landmark heavyweight events. 

Underlining how the event has elevated the audience of the sport, Wilson stated: “We see a totally different demographic viewing KSI Logan Paul markets as opposed to Wilder v Fury markets.

“Male to female split was broadly similar but 52% of KSI v Logan Paul viewers were under 24 whereas it is only 9% of Wilder v Fury users were under 24

“The first KSI v Logan Paul brought 89,000 New Users into Oddschecker, so we are expecting to see even higher numbers this time around.”

Unsurprisingly given the global fanbase of the two influencers, the event is also bringing a much younger audience to the sport and to Oddschecker, with 88% of all KSI v Logan Paul punters on our site are under 34, whereas only around 52% of other boxing match punters are below 34.

Insider Insight: Unlike the first event, boxing seems to be doing its best to capitalise on the opportunity that is a consequence of this type of spectacle. The undercard in Manchester featured a card full of farcical contests between YouTubers, whereas this will feature British world champion Billy Joe Saunders, undefeated American Devin Haney and a plethora of highly regarded prospects, exposing a new audience to elite level boxing.

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