Edited by Yujin Tchun
The long-awaited UK vs US Youtube Boxing Event finally began on the 5th of March, in the OVO Arena Wembley (Corby, 2022). The showdown had a big significance on Youtube itself, as famous English Youtuber, Deji Olatunji, vowed to leave boxing as a career if he loses his third consecutive match, against the American Youtuber, Alex Wassabi. Deji Olatunji kickstarted his boxing career with a loss against American Youtuber, Jake Paul, in 2018. His second match against American Tiktok star Vinnie Hacker ended in another embarrassing defeat for Deji. However, how did such a long-awaited event turn into an absolutely unorganized mess, and why is there so much controversy surrounding the matches (Corby, 2022)?
Firstly, fans speculate match-fixing centered around the match of English Youtuber Kristen Hanby, and Russian-American Youtuber, Vitaly Zdorovetskiy. Throughout the fight, Kristen Hanby brutally headbutted Vitaly Zdorovetskiy on a number of occasions. However, the actions were completely ignored by the referee, as the fight was continued (Dawson, 2022). The fight ended in a draw, with Vitaly Zdorovetskiy extremely unhappy with the decision, as he can be seen exclaiming, “I was robbed!” (Boxing Social, 2022)
American Youtuber Ryan Taylor, however, did not get too lucky with his headbutts. Ryan Taylor headbutted English Youtuber DK Money, during the first round, immediately getting disqualified. As a professional boxing event, where every contestant is expected to prepare and train hard before the fight, fans were extremely disappointed with the number of headbutts throughout the event (Domin, 2022).
The controversy of the event struck during the announcement of the winner for the co-main event, between UK Youtuber King Kenny, and US Youtuber Faze Temperrr. Fans speculate this was another rigged match, again, in the favour of home ground, UK. According to a lot of fans, Faze Temperrr deserved the win, instead of King Kenny (Domin, 2022).
Finally, in the main event, Deji loses an intense split decision against Alex Wassabi, creating an unwanted hat-trick of losses in his boxing career (Domin, 2022). However, is Deji really quitting his boxing career? On the 7th of March, Deji posted a Youtube video on his channel, called “what is next.” In the video, Deji says that he will not end his boxing career with this loss, and will continue his boxing career. He started off the video explaining how he had only 6 weeks to train with his new coach for the fight and later proceeded to thank the fans for all their support. In the video, Deji explains, “... because of how much influence I have, I see this as part of my legacy. I don’t want to be someone who quits, because there are people in the world that are in my shoes too…” Deji promises to win his next fight as an example for people to never give up, keeping fans excited to see what is in store for Deji’s boxing career (Deji, 2022).
References
Corby, D. (2022, March 5). Deji vs Alex Wassabi fight UK time: Start time and live stream for
YouTube bout. Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved March 7, 2022, from
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxing/deji-alex-wassabi-fight-time-26357225
Dawson, A. (2022, March 6). A YouTube boxing event descended into chaos when a creator
started head-butting his opponent. Businessinsider.in. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from
https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/news/a-youtube-boxing-event-descended-into-
chaos-when-a-creator-started-head-butting-his-opponent/articleshow/90024962.cms
Deji. (2022, March 7). what is next [Video]. Youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=7IT_OAz2QW8
Domin, M. (Ed.). (2022, March 6). Who won Deji vs Alex Wassabi fight? YouTube boxing
results including Vitaly. Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxing/who-won-deji-alex-wassabi-26396033
Glaze, V. (2022, March 1). How to watch Showstar's UK vs USA boxing event: Stream, fight
card, more. Dexerto.com. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from
https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/how-to-watch-showstars-uk-vs-usa-boxing-
event-stream-fight-card-more-1740222/
"I WAS ROBBED!" Vitaly Reacts to Draw with Kristen Hanby | Wants Rematch & Talks Future
[Video]. (2022, March 6). Youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ebSUxIrMSnY
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