KSI may feel aggrieved by his dubious points decision defeat at the hands of Tommy Fury last Saturday but the money he made from the event should more than compensate for the result. Fury was adjudged to be the winner of the six-round crossover boxing contest after two judges scored the bout 57-56 in his favour and one scored it 57-57, although this was later corrected to also be in favour of Fury.
The fight, which was not licensed by the British Boxing Board of Control as KSI does not hold a professional boxing licence in the UK, was witnessed by a sell-out crowd of 20,000 people at Manchester’s AO Arena.
Runner-up KSI reportedly earned more than £10m from the event. To put the YouTuber’s hefty payday into context, that is more than double what the entire winning team will earn in prize money at the Rugby World Cup in France.
Social media influencer boxing has become a big business, even if it has horrified boxing traditionalists. Nevertheless, a sports finance expert says it is here to stay.
Speaking to Saxo, Dr Rob Wilson, professor of economics at Sheffield Business School, said: “The Tommy Fury vs KSI fight really demonstrates the power of social media and social media engagement with a new type of fan audience. While traditional boxing fans will see it as a gimmick, what is clear is there is a massive appetite for consumption of sports on this basis.
“Selling out on PPV is one demonstration of the power fights like this can have and you would imagine there will be more to come.
“It is certainly the direction of travel that boxing, certainly this celebrity boxing, is going towards. Fun, WWE entertainment space. I think the closest comparatively would be the UFC, and how the UFC has used entertainment at the core of their business model.
“So I think a blend between the UFC and WWE is the way the celebrity boxing arena may go, and that’s certainly very lucrative.”
The lucrative nature of influencer boxing appears to be at odds with Rugby Union, which is struggling to compete with the most popular of global sports like football and boxing, but is at least showcasing itself on the international stage currently with the thrilling World Cup in France.
And according to Dr Wilson, the emergence of more nations to challenge the sport’s traditional powerhouses is good for business.
He said: “The harsh reality is that rugby as a sport is less attractive than other sports, be it Premier League, La Liga, World Cups or it is indeed celebrity boxing fights. Rugby has an opportunity to grow its fanbase through the advent of their World Cup competition.
“The emergence of so-called Tier Two nations such as Japan or Fiji, or to a lesser extent Argentina has demonstrated that rugby, globally, is improving and I think those improved games will only serve to increase the reputation of Rugby Union and it will follow with interest from broadcasters and commercial partnerships.”