Misfits Boxing the Prime Card: The most genius of circus acts
The good, the bad and the ugly – a perfect metaphor to sum up Misfits Boxing.
The Misfits Boxing phenomenon has taken the boxing world by storm, combining online influencers with already massive fan followings with arguably one of the most entertaining sports in the world. Saturday’s boxing card produced 1.3 million Pay-Per-View (PPV) buys. To put that number into perspective, UFC 205 Conor McGregor vs Eddie Alvarez at Madison Square Garden produced the same number of PPV buys.
Critics can’t argue with the PPV numbers, however, the lack of ability to technically box is evidently lacking by some of these influencers. ex-boxer Carl Froch referred to the KSI vs Dillon Danis fight as ‘The worst fight I’ve ever seen’ on his youtube channel Froch on Fighting
The night, unsurprisingly, had everything from knockouts to robberies to even a disqualification. But who were the real winners?
The night a Fury became an influencer boxer
KSI vs Tommy Fury capped off an extraordinary night for Misfits. The fight went all six rounds with ‘pro’ boxer Fury eventually handing KSI his first loss via a split decision. However, it was not pretty. KSI’s unorthodox approach meant that the fight was mainly fought at range with the YouTuber just looking to land the overhand right.
The fight was not easy on the eye and, because of Fury’s lack of ability, he could not effectively keep KSI out of range.
This meant that after nearly every exchange the fighters ended up clinching, which left fans booing towards the end of the fight. Despite the multiple swings and misses from KSI, he made it to the end of the fight seemingly on his way to a points victory. Fury also had a point deducted for blows to the back of the head.
Despite question marks over who won the fight, it was the hometown hero, Fury, who came out victorious via a split decision. This left some fans displeased, calling the decision a robbery.
Reality check for Dillon Danis
Any fight or beef that Logan Paul is involved in will attract viewers because of the cult-like following he has built up throughout his years online. However, this was on another scale. There was only one reason for this – Dillon Danis. Despite having no previous experience in the ring, Danis is a multiple jiu-jitsu world champion and has sparred with the notorious Conor McGregor throughout his career.
Danis (on the left) at Jennifer Lopez’s birthday party
With little fighting experience, Danis had to make a name for himself in this fight against Paul. In the build-up to the fight, Danis became notorious on X (previously Twitter) for all the wrong reasons. He attacked Logan Paul’s celebrity fiancé on a daily basis, constantly uploading pictures and memes which shed Paul’s fiancé in an unfavourable light. Danis, in his own words, became ‘the bad guy everybody loves’ speaking on DAZN.
However, the majority of fight fans called Dillon out for harassing Paul’s fiancé, criticising the disrespectful nature in which he spoke about her. The fight was an embarrassment for Danis, who for all his claims about being a real fighter, landed a total of 9 punches in 6 rounds.
The fight also highlighted the dangers of influencer boxing. On multiple occasions, Danis tried wrestling Paul, thinking these stunts were amusing. In actuality, it diminished his credibility. With seconds left in the final round, Danis tried taking Paul down. This consequently led to Paul throwing a punch while Danis was grounded.
This sparked a mass brawl inside the ring involving security, cornermen and spectators. When the dust settled, it was announced that Logan had won the fight via disqualification. However, the result holds less weight when the fight ends in the scenes we saw. Dillon Danis is not a fighter and he never had the intention to fight. He wanted chaos.
When a fighter’s main ambition is to make a mockery of the sport, that is the time to cut ties with the so-called ‘fighter’.
Fight of the night
Throughout the night, there was an array of different fights ranging in skill levels on display. Some fights were evidently just for entertainment value. However, one fight stood out from the rest because of the high level of ability from both fighters. Admittedly I, like most fans, was not aware of Walid Sharks and Deen the Great before the night, but the two put on a show.
Both fighters looked to be in incredible shape and were constantly exchanging punches. The fight was very well contested. Deen the Great was just a little quicker and, despite Walid Sharks finishing strong in the last round, it was too little too late, and Deen the Great picked up the decision win.
Post-fight, Deen called out Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia. Despite this being a joke, fans are now speculating if Deen’s next step is to venture into the pro scene.
What’s next for the Misfits Circus?
Love it or hate it, there is no denying Misfits Boxing attracts fans to the sport of boxing. The promotion is strategic and intelligent. It effectively targets the new generation of boxing fans. There is, evidently, some fine tuning that needs to happen. Determining which fighters are entertaining to watch would be a good start.
Misfits also have to take the chaos that descended in the Paul/Danis fight as a warning sign about the narrative they want between two fighters, and what the limitations are pre-fight. Whatever Misfits have up their sleeves, they know if they keep the circus rolling the clowns will definitely follow.
