Ivan Nikolov, the pro boxer added to KSI’s August 27th fight card, has suggested that he’ll no longer be fighting the YouTuber amid backlash over his “white power” tattoo.
August was supposed to be a pretty big month for YouTuber boxing events, but things haven’t quite gone to plan for either KSI or Jake Paul.
While Jake’s fight was canceled due to weight issues, KSI’s highly anticipated clash with Alex Wassabi was scrapped after the latter suffered a concussion during his training camp. As a result, KSI drafted in Swarmz as a replacement but upped the ante when he revealed he’d be fighting twice in one night.
For his second fight, the British YouTube star revealed that he’d be taking on journeyman boxer Ivan Nikolov – who holds a 3-16-2 record. Though, the Bulgarian has suggested that will no longer be happening.
Ivan Nikolov claims KSI fight has been scrapped
Shortly after KSI revealed he’d be fighting the 43-year-old, fans quickly pointed to him having a tattoo that reads “white power” across his stomach. Though, Nikolov has played down any racist connotations.
However, amid the backlash, the Bulgarian fighter has seemingly been dropped from the card. That’s according to The Jungle of Sports, a Bulgarian boxing outlet, which claims that Nikolov told them that he’d tried to “distance himself” from the backlash.
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“I was about to knock out this deceptive rooster. The problem came from DAZN TV, not the rapper,” Nikolov said on Facebook about the fight, sharing the report.
While there has been no official word from either DAZN or KSI just yet, Nikolov has since been removed from one of the posters advertising the fight.
The graphic, which was posted by DAZN, still references the fact that KSI will fight twice in one night, but only has Swarmz listed as an opponent now.
𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐄 few months coming up on DAZN 📜 pic.twitter.com/Y6fVptrk8D
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) August 18, 2022
It remains to be seen as to what will happen to KSI’s plans for the event, but to this point, it seems as if they are looking to draft in a replacement.
We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.