KSI – the YouTuber, rapper, influencer, actor, purveyor of fruit-flavoured sports drinks and, most pertinently, boxer – is in the midst of some of the most gruelling months of his life. It’s late September in 2023, and KSI (real name Olajide “JJ” Olatunji) is gearing up to fight reality star Tommy Fury, in what feels like the culmination of five years of graft. Influencer boxing has been growing steadily since KSI first fought Joe Weller back in 2018. The MF & DAZN: X Series 007 in May of this year saw an alleged 300,000 pay-per-view buys and a packed out Wembley Arena watch amateur fights including Salt Papi (796k Instagram followers) against Anthony Taylor (615k Instagram followers) and Deji, KSI’s brother (3m Instagram followers), against Swarmz (1m Instagram followers). It’s chaotic, it’s crazy, and it might just be taking over the world. CircleZeroEight’s Jimmy McIntosh sat down with Issue 04 cover star KSI and British professional cruiserweight Richard Riakporhe for a candid chat about their careers so far, their hopes for the future, and the wacky world of influencer boxing.
JM: Lovely to meet you guys. You both got into boxing in very different ways. What were your journeys like into the sport?
RR: It all started when I was around 18. I remember a friend of mine was telling me how he was going to a boxing gym, so I asked him to show me some shots and combinations. He started throwing the one-twos, the double jab, right hands, and I guess I just thought, “You know what, I need to learn how to fight”. I started going every single week. And then I made the decision to compete. I was proper nervous – I didn’t know what to expect, or if I was any good. But I had my first fight and won by TKO. One thing led to another and I just kept on going all the way until now. What about you K?
KSI: For me it was by accident. I called out [the YouTuber] Joe Weller, who was fighting his mate Theo Baker. I said I’d fight the winner – as a joke. Joe Weller won, and he said, “Let’s fight then”. But I really didn’t want to fight. I didn’t know how to fight, I’d never fought in my life. We had a little back and forth, and the pressure of me having to fight him was just so high to the point where I basically had to do it. So I decided to train with Viddal [Riley]. I beat Joe Weller by TKO, and was like, “This is amazing. I want to fight some more”. So I started calling out the Paul brothers, and ended up fighting Logan twice. I then had a little break just to focus on music, but came back to try and find Jake Paul, which didn’t work out. So I decided to fight the person that beat Jake Paul. And that’s Tommy Fury.
RR: How was it when you jumped into the ring for the first time? Were you nervous, and did you speak to any other boxers to get advice on how to deal with the nerves and stuff?
KSI: I looked at a few YouTube videos, but before my first time I was terrified. I didn’t know how to defend myself! In my first spar I was just all over the place. I was running around, slap fisting – it was terrible technique. I had no idea what I was doing and it was terrifying, because I was like, “Oh my god, I’m gonna get hit”. It took a while to get used to, because I don’t think anyone likes getting hit. But now I feel like I’m quite seasoned, especially with training at Shootfighters [gym, in Wembley]. You know, we do a lot of sparring to the point where I’m not even nervous anymore.
RR: That’s similar to me. We spar every day, and always work on the intensity. If we don’t have a fight coming up, we’ll lower the intensity a bit and try not to bash each other up, but yeah, that’s exactly how it is for us.
KSI: When you first started were you nervous, or were you just straight in like, “Yeah, this is all me”?
RR: Yeah, I was nervous as hell. In the amateurs, the heavier you are, the later you’d box on the show. All of the lightweights would go first, and the heavyweights would be the last card at the event. I remember for my first fight there were a few other fights from my gym, and I was the last one. Everybody won. My coach was like, “Richard, make sure you win”. I don’t think they realised what I was going through mentally! I was literally dancing around the ring, proper nervous. But after a while I started to get that confidence, through experience.
KSI: Did your coaches tell you that you had power, and that you had all these special attributes that could help you in the boxing ring?
RR: Yeah, it was after probably about three or four fights. I was winning a lot of them by TKO, and my coaches were like, “You’ve got a lot of power, you know; you’re gifted”. I was just trying to hit and not get hit, in an old school classic boxing style. But that was when I knew that I was a puncher – not everyone can punch like that. That gave me more confidence, but it affected my boxing: I stopped boxing with skill, and I was just looking for the big shot. So it initially made me a rubbish boxer, but a powerful and dangerous one at the same time. If you were really skillful you could probably outbox me for a couple of rounds. It meant that I had to switch it up and learn. And then everything changed for me. When I watch you fight I’m amazed because you’re just so aggressive; you’re in beast mode. It’s actually sick because even fighters that have been doing this for years don’t have that venom. How did you develop that style? Did you watch any fighters in particular?
KSI: I’ve always just had it in me. I’ve always been a risk taker. I’m not really a guy that is tentative – I hate the idea of not putting my all into something and then looking back with regrets. I want to know that I did everything I could on the night. I love it as well man. I love everyone saying I have zero chance, because then when I do win these fights, it brings my level up even more. It makes me look like some crazy being that was able to do the impossible. And I love being the underdog, having been one quite a few times. When I was fighting Joe Weller, people said I had no chance and I beat him. When I was fighting Logan Paul, people said I had no chance and I beat him. Even taking an uppercut from him and still being able to get up and continue shows that I’ve always had this dog in me. That’s why I have ‘legacy’ tattooed on my back. I don’t really do it for the money or the fame or anything. I just like pushing myself and showing the world that no matter who you are, as long as you work hard and believe in yourself, you can literally do whatever you want.
JM: Richard, you’re training every day. And obviously, JJ, you’ve got so much other stuff going on. What’s the schedule like for you with training?
KSI: It’s twice a day. Except for Sunday, where I go for a run in my area. But then I also find time to make videos or do other random content. Obviously, I’m not doing as much as I normally would. But, you know, I’m still a YouTuber; I still make music; I still do all these other things. But I’m definitely taking boxing very seriously.
RR: I always like to judge the outcome of a fight based on who I see putting in the work and putting in effort. Even though you’ve got a lot going on, you’re still taking the fight seriously. When everybody’s out on the weekend, you’re training. I can see it in your eyes: this guy is doing whatever he needs to do to win. I can relate to that. I remember certain fights where people were like, “I don’t know if Richard’s gonna take this. He’s got a puncher’s chance, but I feel like he’s gonna lose this one”. And I’m like, “Okay, cool. I’m gonna use all of this as fuel”. These people don’t know how much potential I’ve got. I’m putting in the work. Then, when I get the result, everybody’s shocked. That feeling of satisfaction, seeing all of those haters that were doubting me – it’s a great feeling.
KSI: It’s the best feeling man.
RR: It’s true what you said: it’s not really about money, it’s deeper than that. It’s about your name; your legacy. Things might not be going your way in a fight, but it’s about whether or not you gave up. It shows what type of character you are, the way you come through.
JM: What have been your career highlights so far?
KSI: I think me beating Logan was a pretty huge thing for me. Because everyone said that I had no chance. The odds were fully against me. Hearing as I walked out into the ring, “From the United Kingdom!” was so gas. I remember just partying for weeks on end, man. We were in Vegas, and it was nonstop, every single day… I was legit exhausted, but we were still going HAM. It was phenomenal.
RR: Yeah, I think my career highlight was when I won my first title. It was such a big deal to me, that I put so much pressure on myself. I would think about it day in and day out. When it came to the night, I was losing the first few rounds. My coach said to me, “What’s going on? Do you want to be here? I can throw in the towel if you like”. The next round I came out and gave it everything I had. I just let my hands go. Got a shot off. Started to hit the body. Then my opponent’s whole demeanour changed. I ended up getting the victory for a stoppage. That was like coming back from the dead, for me. I visualised it. I thought it, and it came to pass. It showed me a lot about myself: as long as I’m in the fight, I always have a chance to win. Afterwards, it was great to go around my area and show everybody the title – go to the schools, and show the kids what you can achieve when you put your mind to something. Everything is possible – literally exactly what KSI said.
JM: If we could go to you, JJ. I remember watching your YouTube videos back in 2011. Did you ever then envision that your career would go the way it’s gone?
KSI: Hell no, I definitely thought I’d just be playing FIFA for the rest of my life. The fact that I was able to delve into the music and get a number one album, and then delve into boxing and end up fighting a professional boxer – I never thought any of that would happen, and it’s still very surreal. With YouTube, I felt like there was a ceiling, and I had reached it, and in order for me to break that ceiling I needed to venture into other things. That’s one of the reasons why I did music. With boxing it kind of just happened, and then I used that to help the music and to help the YouTube. Now I’m at a place where I’ve created Misfits [Boxing, the promotion company] to help influencers – and people who want to cross over into the scene – box. We’re trying to get a few pros in there as well. Obviously [the sports drink] Prime is another business that I’ve got. It’s all been quite organic. I work hard, just like everyone else does. I feel like, especially in the past few years, I’ve definitely become a lot more focused. I don’t drink any alcohol. I don’t club as much as I used to. I have a girlfriend. I’m a lot more settled down, and a lot more happy with how everything is to the point where I just do the things I want to do rather than doing them because it’s the thing to do. I feel like I’m at peace now, which has helped so much with everything else that I’m trying to do in my career.
JM: What’s next for both of you? What does the future hold? Obviously, JJ, you’ve got that fight with Tommy in October, but beyond that is it just a case of seeing what happens?
KSI: I feel like that’s always been my life, just seeing what happens! You never know, I might end up fighting Jake Paul, or there’s talk of me fighting Conor McGregor – it’s one of those things that you just never know. But I think for me, after this fight, I definitely want to do that family holiday that I was meant to do weeks ago. I also want to do a holiday with me and my girlfriend, and a holiday with just me and my boys. I want to make sure I focus on Sidemen again, because I’ve neglected that a little due to all the training. Maybe do a bit of music here and there. But I just wanna take it easy, because I’ve definitely been going at 100 miles an hour for quite a few years now. I feel like I need to find some time for me. What about you Riakporhe?
RR: I’m the number one contender for the WBO title, and they should be ordering that next month. I’m trying to get a fight in between – hopefully in November, and then literally go for the world title early next year. It’s a big, big year coming up. I want to win that, and then maybe move up to heavyweight. I also want to work a bit on the modelling. Do some more campaigns, work on the [Richard Riakporhe] Foundation . I think that’s it for now. If I do too much I’ll end up like KSI, with too much going on!
KSI: Nah, it’s good! It’s good that you’re branching out and doing more than just the boxing, because I feel like a lot of boxers decide to not venture into other areas. But it can definitely help their career in more ways than they would think. It just gets more people knowing about you, and talking about you, and it makes you different. It’s your unique selling point.
RR: Absolutely. I respect you, and people like Logan, because of the way you came into the game and saw the gaps in the market, which you’re now exploiting for your benefit. People were complaining in the beginning, but now there’s a real appreciation. It was a very intelligent move to expand into boxing. You’re taking over, it’s that simple. I think it’s actually inspired a lot of professional boxers to do different things, whether that’s modelling, or building up their personalities on social media. They’re starting to realise that it’s not just about doing one thing. It’s not like back in the days, where you could just be a boxer – it’s not enough. Watching you grow has given me a lot of motivation. I can’t be lazy. It’s not enough to just win a fight. We need to do things that we’re uncomfortable with and step out of our comfort zones, you know? That was normal for you. But it’s not for boxers, trust me.
KSI: It’s only because with boxing – and with all these other industries – there’s so many more people doing it now compared to back in the day. You have to find a way to make yourself stand out now. If you do, you’re able to reap the rewards tremendously.
JM: I remember when the YouTube boxing thing kicked off, there was a bit of a backlash to it. But it’s just gone from strength to strength and really captured the public’s imagination – especially the younger generation – in a way that mainstream boxing maybe never quite did. Where do you see it going? How big could this go?
RR: I think there’s actually no limit. It’s the entertainment factor, with all these characters. When I think of YouTuber boxing, I think it’s almost more like wrestling. Back in the days when I used to watch WWE – man, I was hooked on that. Everybody had an interesting character. I can still remember watching Booker T. Watching Ric Flair. Watching Stone Cold Steve Austin. I kind of see the similarities with YouTuber boxing. What do you think?
KSI: Yeah, legit. Like you said, there’s no limit, man. The whole influencer boxing scene is a bit of a mix of WWE and boxing. Having storylines; having characters, but they’re fighting. It’s real. That’s where the entertainment side is amplified. And some cool ideas come from it, like the whole tag-team boxing thing. That’s just entertainment. Yes, obviously everyone’s punching each other and there has to be a winner, but it’s entertaining to figure out who could win between this duo and this duo. Or, for example, me versus Tommy. Tommy has a large audience, and I have a large audience, and people are excited to see what’s gonna happen, because whoever loses is gonna get memed. That, to the public, is entertainment. It’s all very much focused on entertainment, and I think that’s pretty cool.
