KSI ‘banked double’ Rugby World Cup winners’ prize cash for Tommy Fury struggle

KSI could really feel aggrieved by his doubtful factors resolution defeat by the hands of Tommy Fury final Saturday however the cash he produced from the occasion ought to greater than compensate for the end 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, though this was later corrected to even be in favour of Fury.

The struggle, which was not licensed by the British Boxing Board of Control as KSI doesn’t maintain an expert boxing licence within the UK, was witnessed by a sell-out crowd of 20,000 folks at Manchester’s AO Arena.

Runner-up KSI reportedly earned greater than £10m from the occasion. To put the YouTuber’s hefty payday into context, that’s greater than double what all the successful crew will earn in prize cash on the Rugby World Cup in France.

Social media influencer boxing has turn out to be a giant enterprise, even when it has horrified boxing traditionalists. Nevertheless, a sports activities finance skilled says it’s right here to remain.

Speaking to Saxo, Dr Rob Wilson, professor of economics at Sheffield Business School, mentioned: “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 facility fights like this may have and you’d think about there will probably be extra to return.

“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 believe a mix between the UFC and WWE is the best way the movie star boxing area could go, and that’s actually very profitable.”

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 actuality is that rugby as a sport is much less enticing than different sports activities, be it Premier League, La Liga, World Cups or it’s certainly movie star boxing fights. Rugby has a possibility to develop its fanbase via the arrival of their World Cup competitors.

“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.”