Britain’s biggest boxing match in a year happened last night.
But fans of the sport may have missed it – this match was one for the social media obsessed.
Last night saw two titans of YouTube go head to head at the Copper Box Arena in London’s Olympic Park.
Joe Weller and KSI are names boxing fanatics are unlikely to be familiar with.
But the social media stars, famous for their vlogging and video game reviews, are well known in other circles.
Last night saw two titans of YouTube go head to head in London’s Olympic Park
About 1.6 million tuned in to watch KSI (left) and Joe Weller (right), making it boxing’s largest live audience since Joshua v Klitschko
At its peak 1.6 million viewers tuned it, making it boxing’s largest live audience since Anthony Joshua v Wladimir Klitschko in April last year.
As many as 20 millions are expected to watch the footage back.
The match outperformed the gross domestic live audience for both last year’s Wimbledon and FA cup finals.
Barbs were thrown in the build up to the showdown.
But while traditional boxers might trash talk about the size of their biceps, or what they intend to do with their opposition’s unconscious body, these two fighters squabbled over who had the most subscribers.
Nearly 8,000 fans crammed into the east London venue with the average ticket costing £66.
Both men’s lack of sporting credentials appeared to do little to dampen ticket sales.
Verbal barbs flew in the months before the match, with both young men calling each other out on Twitter
KSI (left) is known to friends as Olajide William ‘JJ’ Olatunj. Joe Weller (right) is best known for his commentary of the FIFA video game
About 1.6 million tuned in to match live while up to 20 million are expected to watch the footage back in the coming days
In 2011, KSI, who is also a rapper, released Heskey Time, a track about Emile Heskey
As much as £100,000 in bets had been placed by Friday night with at least 13 bookmakers offering odds.
This, told Ladbrokes’ Alex Apati to The Sunday Times, was more than for the week’s real bout between cruiserweights Lawrence Okolie and Isaac Chamberlain.
‘For a fight no one really knows about, and no one can really call, it attracted a lot of interest on the betting front,’ Apati said.
‘According to our books, this fight is more popular with punters than an actual professional bout between two upcoming British fighters.’
IN THE BLUE CORNER… KSI
From: Watford
Age: 24
Height: 5ft 11in
Weight: 13st
YouTube subscribers: 17.5m
Twitter followers: 3.95m
Odds: 4-5 William Hill
IN THE RED CORNER… Joe Weller
From: Brighton
Age: 21
Height: 5ft 7in
Weight: 12st 5lb
YouTube subscribers: 4.7m
Twitter followers: 1.24m
Odds: 10-11 William Hill
Weller, the fan favourite to win, began strong. But as the scheduled six three-minute rounds progressed KSI emerged on top.
In only the third round, after a standing count against Weller, the referee stopped the match.
The build up to the match began in August last year, when Weller beat fellow internet influencer Theo ‘Malfoy’ Baker in a live streamed match – that time without an audience of thousands.
Soon after 24-year-old KSI, real name Olajide William Olatunji, came on the scene.
Sparks flew as the two amateurs exchanged comments over social media.
‘You are going to be getting knocked out,’ said KSI, the English-born internet personality, rapper, comedian and actor (who has more than three billion views and 17 million subscribers).
‘No amount of subscribers are going to be able to save anyone in this situation,’ replied 21-year-old Joe Weller, the video game blogger and music producer, who trails behind in terms of influence with a mere 4.7 million.
About 1.6 million tuned in to watch KSI and Joe Weller, making it boxing’s largest live audience since Joshua v Klitschko
The pre-match news conference, which was watched by 13 million people, saw Weller shove KSI, who in the scuffle punched a security guard
After the match Weller took to Instagram to congratulate KSI on his victory calling his victory ‘deserved’
Back came KSI, real name Olajide Olatunji: ‘I’m going to box you to death. I’m going to come like a thousand trains.’
The news conference, which saw Weller shove KSI, who in turn punched a security guard, was watched by 13 million.
Stuart Jones, who promoted the bout, insisted the pair shared a mutual dislike of one another.
The event, he said, was driven by genuine anger and not a desire for publicity.
Harry Hugo, of Goat marketing agency, said the event could herald a shift in sport entertainment.
KSI and Weller are better known than Anthony Joshua, who has just three million followers.
And the fact they are inexperienced is largely irrelevant. People, he added, just want to see their favourite stars fight.