If someone said a few years ago that YouTubers and professional boxers would be stepping into the ring together to fight, most would have thought it was a joke. However, over the last couple of years, social media boxing has grown to unprecedented heights.
We have seen the likes of Tommy Fury fight YouTube sensation Jack Paul, and Joe Fournier take on Sidemen’s KSI. On October 14th, Tommy Fury and KSI will go head to head – but who will reign victorious?
What are the factors?
It appears clear that Fury is the favorite to win for obvious reasons, the main one being that he is a professional boxer and has been training most of his life to become a great fighter. He is the brother of undefeated heavyweight champion Tyson Fury – and it is known they often train together. They are currently in the same training camp as Tyson is due to fight Francis Ngannou on October 28th.
Reach and Stance
Tommy and Fury both stand at 183 cm in height; Fury has a significantly more extended reach of 203 cm, which is 10 cm longer than KSI’s 193 cm; this will play an advantage to Fury as KSI will have to come closer to his opponent to land a punch, only increasing his chances of getting hit.
KSI and Fury fight in an orthodox stance (a fighting stance where fighters stand with their left foot in front and their right foot in the back. Your right hand is connected to your chin or head, while your left hand is in the lead. The lead left hand is the first line of defence to test the range between you and your opponent).
Previous Records
Both fighters are currently undefeated, and neither has an extensive fighting record. Tommy holds a record of 9-0-0, winning four by KO, and KSI holds a record of 4-0-1, winning three by KO. However, KSI spent the majority of his life trying to build a YouTube following, while Fury spent his trying to be a professional boxer. KSI has fought predominantly other social media stars – except in his last match, where he fought pro fighter, Joe Fournier, which he initially won by KO but soon changed to a no-contest result after a replay of the footage showing him landing an elbow in the finishing sequence. In contrast, Fury has indeed fought more professional boxers in his career. KSI’s last fight was against Fournier in May of this year, making it approximately four months since KSI was last in the ring, while Tommy’s last fight was in February against social media personality Jake Paul, meaning Fury has spent around seven months out of the ring.
Additionally, Fury is the younger of the two: Tommy is twenty-four, while KSI is six years older,and age can often play a factor when two boxers go against each other. Although, what it truly comes down to is who is the more conditioned fighter? Who has trained harder, and mainly, who will perform better on the night under the pressure?
The Odds
The current average odds, as collected by TXODDS, are Fury 1.306 and KSI 3.663.
Besides who will be crowned victorious if you want to place a wager, there are a few other variables to bet on.
How many rounds will it go?
While both fighters have quite a similar boxing record when it comes to going the distance, it is actually KSI who has the upper hand as his previous fight records show most of his fights have not gone the distance, but this could be based on his opponents not being significantly challenging as many of them were social media stars.
Average odds to go the distance 1.957, fight to be stopped beforehand 1.773.
Will there be a KO or UD victory?
The two fighters have a very similar KO record. Fury has partaken in more fights in general but has yet to have a KO since 2020, his last being when he fought Genadij Krajevskij, with his last TKO being in 2021 against Scott Williams. KSI has had three KO victories over the previous two years, one being against influencer Thomas Oliveira, also known as FaZe Temperrr, the second against pro boxer Luis Alcaraz Pineda and the first against UK rapper Swarmz.
Average odds on KO victory:
Fury 2.1667
KSI 5.922
Odds on UD:
Fury 2.759
KSI 8.389
