“We’re working on it,” KSI said. “We’re looking like November, December. I just know it’s going to be a long back and forth with negotiations. Who is the A-side, size of the ring, what’s the weight, or what’s the purse? Is it going to be on DAZN, or is it going to be on Showtime? There’s just a lot of back and forth when it comes to these things. It’s one of the ones where it’s happening, slowly, but I’m just focusing on knocking out Temperrr and knocking out my next opponent and eventually getting to Jake.”
Things did recently get slightly more complicated for a potential KSI vs. Paul booking: Paul signed an MMA deal with the PFL. While the deal does not figure to actually restrict Paul from pursuing his boxing interests, it does add another layer of complexity to negotiations, particularly if Paul’s time becomes wrapped up in MMA. But KSI is skeptical about his rival’s commitment to the PFL and MMA.
“If I’m truly being honest, I feel like he feels he needs to have a stake in something, because he sees what I’m doing with Prime and he’s seeing Misfits, he sees that I’ve got so many baskets, and he’s just there like, ‘I just box and that’s it,’” KSI said. “So I feel like he wanted to just have a stake in something to be like, ‘I have a percentage in something.’
“Is he going to actually fight MMA? I’ll probably say he won’t, but he’ll probably try to prove me wrong. But he’ll fight some scrub, who doesn’t know how to punch and grapples terribly. He’ll probably fight, who was that wrestler that did terribly in the UFC? [CM Punk]. He’ll probably try to fight someone like him.”
In the end, regardless of the roadblocks, KSI does believe he and Paul will eventually get to settle their differences and, unsurprisingly, the British YouTuber is adamant he will shock the world and “flatline” Paul. Then it might be onto bigger game.
“I was thinking, after I flatline Jake, how cool would it be to have a go at the king, [Conor McGregor]?” KSI said. “I believe in myself so much, that I think I can take on anyone, within reason. ...
“You never know. But I’m always down. If it makes sense and it really excites me, and if I’m there — for me, legacy is my word. ... It’s the reason why I do everything. So if I’m there like, ‘Yo, this would be crazy for my legacy!’ But it’s not like I want to just fight and get money. No. I want to fight and win, bro. Because that is special. Cool, taking part is dope, but winning? Nothing can compare.”
