YouTube star and influencer-turned-boxer, Olajide Olatunji, popularly known as KSI, has officially announced his retirement from boxing, confirming he will not face longtime rival Jake Paul in the ring.
KSI, who first made waves in the sport in 2018 with his fight against Logan Paul—a bout that sold over a million pay-per-views—later founded Misfits Boxing, providing a platform for social media personalities to compete professionally.
Reflecting on his five-fight run between 2022 and 2023, which ended with a 3-1-1 record, KSI cited the extreme physical and mental toll of boxing as the key reason for his decision to quit.
In an interview with The Ranveer Show, he explained, “The training, how physically and mentally draining it is, it’s just like nothing else. By the seventh or eighth week, you’re like, ‘Why am I doing this? I hate this. I’m getting beat up. I don’t even want to get up anymore.’”
He added that the relentless preparation and fight schedules left him physically ill and mentally exhausted, saying, “You win? Fantastic. You’re over the moon. You lose? What a waste of my time. I literally spent 12 weeks of my life killing myself to not get the result I wanted.”
KSI also addressed the long-rumoured fight against Jake Paul, revealing that he had been offered tens of millions of dollars for the showdown, but the bout never materialized due to weight disagreements and repeated delays by Paul. “Time and time again, it’s excuse after excuse. I tried to build up again to fight Jake, and then he kept moving the goalposts. I was done,” he said.
He emphasised that money was never his driving force, noting, “My fight with Tommy Fury… all the money I made, I gave it to my trainers. I do this for the sport and for the challenge, not for the money.”
With boxing now behind him, KSI plans to focus on his music career, business ventures, and expanding his entertainment projects. While the anticipated fight with Jake Paul may never happen, KSI’s role in mainstreaming influencer boxing remains undisputed.
