KSI admits he has been inspired back to boxing by bitter rival Jake Paul – but insists their grudge match will be the end of his fight career.
The pair of YouTube foes are in talks to put bragging rights and reputations on the line this year.
ReutersKSI admits he has been inspired back to boxing by bitter rival Jake Paul[/caption]
Jake Paul has become a 6-0 star and silenced many critics in the processEsther Lin/SHOWTIME
Paul is desperate for revenge after KSI took his brother Logan to a draw in 2018 only to win the rematch a year later.
That victory saw KSI – real name Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji – take three years out of the ring to focus on his fledging music career.
But while doing so, Paul made a name for himself in the fight game and has quickly become a pay-per-view star at 6-0 in the process.
Finally settling the score between the sworn enemies is what convinced KSI back to boxing.
But if he adds another Paul scalp to his collection, it will also be enough to see the social media sensation hang his gloves up for good.
KSI, 29, told SunSport: “I know after Jake it’s done. I’d have no desire to continue.”
Paul, 25, in January 2020 won against KSI’s close friend AnEsonGib, with the Brit ringside to see it.
The American influencer has since beaten the likes of ex-UFC champions Tyron Woodley, 40, and Anderson Silva, 46.
It has cast doubt on KSI’s chances of beating Paul, which is the same fuel he used to beat brother Logan, 27.
KSI said: “For me, after Logan I was like, ‘Alright, that’s it, it’s done.’ There was no one after it that I was like, ‘I want to fight this person.’
“I beat the best person in this whole influencer space, why else do I need to fight anyone else?
“I was like cool I’ll focus on music, focus on the foundation of music and making sure it was where I wanted it to be.
“Then Jake really started picking up steam and I bigged Gib up to beat him and then he was able to beat Gib.
“Obviously Jake’s beaten all these other people and everyone thinks, ‘He’d destroy KSI.’
“I was like, ‘Nah, nah, nah, nah. They have short-term memories, I swear. Do you not understand what I did when I fought Logan?
“I wasn’t even at the best of my abilities when I beat Logan. Everything was in his favour, I had to gain weight to reach Logan’s level.
“All these things were in Logan’s favour and I was still able to overcome it. I had no interest in fighting again and now everyone thinks Jake Paul is that guy.
I know after Jake it’s done. I’d have no desire to continue.
KSI on his boxing career
“It piqued my interest and I was like, ‘OK cool, new goal: let me come back to boxing and I’ll knock him out.’ After that, I won’t have a goal again. I’ll be good.”
KSI first returned in August and made up for lost time by beating rapper Swarmz, 26, and boxer Luis Alcaraz Pineda, 23, on the SAME NIGHT.
He was due to face Dillon Danis, 29, on Saturday but the 2-0 MMA fighter pulled out.
KSI will instead fight gamer Faze Temperrr, 29, who has two wins and one loss in the ring, live on DAZN PPV.
And it is all one step closer in KSI’s eventual plan to fight and retire from boxing after getting his hands on Paul at last.
He said: “I don’t care who’s in front of me, I just know that I’ll destroy them.
“For me my main goal is Jake Paul and I don’t want to fight Jake Paul instantly because I know once I fight him and beat him then it’s done.
“I wouldn’t want to fight anymore because I wouldn’t have any more goals in boxing, I would have achieved what I strived for.
“I’m quite a goal-driven person, so once I get my goal I’m like, ‘OK, on to the next thing.’
“For me, I’m just kind of enjoying the whole boxing space and enjoying and training, getting better and improving as a person and as a human physically and mentally.
“I’m like, do you know what? Let me have a few fights under my belt just so I’m the best of the best that I can be, then fight Jake and show him he’s absolutely nothing.”
Jake Paul and KSI are in talks to fight in 2023GETTY Read More