Controversial YouTuber Logan Paul had an impromptu boxing session with an Ivan Drago impersonator on May 28, ultimately knocking the actor out – but some fans aren’t convinced that the KO was for real.
Despite knocking the impersonator out cold and assuring viewers that the incident was not staged, fans and critics alike accused Paul of faking the fight, with some speculating that he had even paid the fake Drago off.
“So how much are you paying this actor, Logan?” one critic wrote.
“Imagine after all this fake stuff that Logan pulls, he loses to KSI,” another commented.
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Paul addressed the negativity in an Instagram video shortly thereafter, where he gave the naysayers an uncensored piece of his mind.
“Dear everyone commenting on my last YouTube video, the boxing match, saying it’s staged or fake – politely, fuck yourself,” Paul said of the matter.
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This wouldn’t be the first time Paul has been accused of faking a knockout, either; the YouTuber was put on blast after fans accused him of staging his viral video slapping a man unconscious in preparation for his trip to the ‘Battle on the Volga.’
While Logan didn’t make such a pointed statement in this instance, he made appearances on two separate podcasts following the video’s release, where he claimed that his opponent couldn’t remember his own name – nor ever being slapped, in the first place.
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— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) May 22, 2019
Paul went on to compare the incident to his scandal in Japan’s Aokigahara ‘Suicide Forest’ in early 2018, expressing relief that he’d pulled out of the Russian slap battle ahead of time.
“This is that moment where, in Tokyo, you didn’t have someone telling you this is not a good idea,” Paul said of the debacle. “…I’m at the fork in the fuckin’ road, dude. I’ve been at this place before, and I went the wrong way, and now, I’m gonna go the right fuckin’ way.”
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The YouTuber has since claimed that he is going to pursue a career in fighting, after expressing an acute desire to step away from the video platform in the past.
With Logan stepping away from the slap battle, it looks like he will throw down next with YouTuber KSI in their November 2019 boxing rematch, although no date nor venue have yet been set as of May 29.