KOs Galore As KSI stops two in one
I remember watching KSI as a kid. It was inappropriate jokes, games of FIFA and short comedy sketches. So to see him headlining a boxing card at the O2 Arena is still somewhat of bizarre sight.
The event was billed ‘2 Fights 1 Night’, as KSI looked to settle a score with rapper Swarmz, before making his first foray into the real world of ‘professional boxing’ to fight Luis Pineda. The '2 Fights 1 Night' of course comes with its own risk. A cut or bad defeat in fight one, and fight two would have been axed.
This night was also the first of the Misfits x Wasserman link-up, which in the long-run could no doubt turn out to be one of the smartest moves the Sauerland's have made in boxing.
In what was a strange pre-fight turn of events, KSI’s original professional opponent for Saturday night turned out to be a white supremacist.
No, really!
The matchmaker was sacked, and a new opponent was found. Unfortunately the new opponent proved to be as useful as a chocolate teapot. Although I have a feeling this matchmaker won’t pay the price for that.
Swarmz himself was also a replacement as Alex Wassabi, who fought and beat KSI's brother Deji earlier this year, pulled out just two weeks ago through injury.
Swarmz admitted himself during the week that he is a novice, and by novice I mean he has just two weeks of boxing experience! KSI himself isn't Lomachenko by any stretch of the imagination, but this was a fight that from the off was heading in one direction and one direction only.
For Swarmz, that direction was to the canvas, as KSI came out and landed early with ease. Swarmz was in fight or flight mode with barely 30 seconds on the clock, and swung for the hills in an attempt to halt KSI's charge. A warning from the referee also followed as Swarmz cowed away from the onslaught.
The start of the end came when KSI dropped his man after he landed hard to the body. To Swarmz's credit, he was up and ready to battle on.
Surprisingly the bell was sounded for round 1, which was KSI's cue to begin doing press-ups!
Whilst KSI was doing a workout, Swarmz was using every second to recover in his corner. He knew stepping out for round 2 that he was a lamb to the slaughter, and one to the body followed by one to the head wrapped up proceedings swiftly.
After hitting the canvas, it was clear to see he wanted no more.
"I'll be back... in a bit", KSI told his fans, and looking just as fresh as when he walked out, he disappeared to ready himself for what was next.
So onto part 2 of KSI's double header, and 2-6 Mexican Luis Pineda was next in the firing line.
The bell rang in what was an electric O2 and immediately Pineda was on the run. He looked hesitant, scared, and you could have fit a jumbo jet through his guard. Professional by name, but there was an argument to suggest that even Swarmz looked more composed than this man.
Not once, not twice, but three times Pineda hit the deck in the first round.
Round 2 was no less humiliating, but not after KSI was warned for punches to the back of the head. KSI banked knockdowns four, five and six, yet somehow Pineda ducked and dived his way to round 3.
Round 3 was the icing on KSI's cake, as he put the Mexican down twice more before the referee decided there really was no point in the Pineda seeing the fight out.
One thing he has to be commended for is managing to be the worst fighter on a card filled with influencers. That is some going.
So KSI had delivered what he had promised, and he headed straight for the mic after his hand was raised by MC legend Michael Buffer.
"Are you not entertained?!", he asked the crowd.
Perhaps not with the level of opponent, but if I'm honest, it's hard not to be impressed with the sheer force behind this influencer boxing movement. The O2 had not seen a boxing sell out for two years, which if anything indicates why this scene could well be important to the future of the professional side of the sport.
One thing that you do have to do is take an event like Saturday night at face value. Nobody should expect a punch perfect performance from KSI, but despite there being minimal threat from Swarmz or Pineda, his boxing fundamentals had clearly improved ten-fold since that fight with rival-turned-business partner Logan Paul.
Of course, old habits die hard, and he is worlds away from mixing it with anyone we would consider a professional.
Andrew Tate, Slim and the winner of next month's fight between Austin McBroom and AnEsonGib were just a few of the names on the post-fight hitlist.
Tommy Fury too, in what would be a real kick in the nuts to rival Jake Paul, who just can't seem to nail down that fight.
Now, back to the real stuff, as Liam Smith headlines in his home town next Saturday against Hassan Mwakinyo. Head over to iFL TV for all of your fight week content.