The 32-year-old YouTuber-turned-fighter has not boxed since losing a close decision to Tommy Fury, 26, in October 2023 and has now admitted his heart is no longer in the sport, despite remaining a central figure in influencer boxing through Misfits Boxing.
Speaking on The Ranveer Show, KSI said: “I think everyone has a bad side, but it’s whether you want to tap into that, and for me, I don’t want to do that. I felt like I had to when I was boxing.
“I felt like I had to be the nightmare, and with that, to sell a fight you have to do stuff to get people to want to watch. I did some horrible things when I was doing the whole boxing thing. That’s the fight game, and I didn’t enjoy it.”
The Nightmare revealed that even a lucrative offer to finally face Jake Paul, 28, was not enough to keep him involved.
He said: “I’ve been offered $30 million to fight Jake Paul. These guys can’t give me any amount of money to fight this guy. When it comes to boxing, I’m done. I tried.”
KSI added that his long-stated ambition had been to fight The Problem Child while helping build Misfits Boxing, but repeated breakdowns in negotiations left him disillusioned.
He explained: “I was there ready to fight Jake Paul. Instead, he fought Nate Diaz.
“Then it was excuses after excuses, weight changes, moving the goalposts. It got to the point where I was like, ‘What am I doing?’ I’m done.”
KSI - whose real name is Olajide ‘JJ’ Olatunji - became a pivotal figure in the influencer boxing boom after beating fellow YouTuber Joe Weller in 2018, before drawing and then defeating Logan Paul across two hugely successful bouts.
Those events helped reshape crossover boxing and paved the way for Misfits, which KSI co-founded to showcase influencer-led cards.
Reflecting on his final bout, he said the loss to Fury marked a turning point.
He said: “After I lost that fight, I was quite lost. I tried to get back into boxing, but my heart wasn’t really in it. My body was broken. My hand was messed up. I just thought, ‘Why am I doing this to myself?’”
KSI also described the physical and mental toll of training camps.
He said: “Of everything I’ve done in my life, boxing is the hardest thing. By week seven or eight, you’re waking up asking why you’re doing this. Physically, you’re finished. Mentally, you’re cooked.”
While his days in the ring are over, KSI stressed he will remain involved behind the scenes.
He said: “I still want to grow Misfits. Just don’t expect me to step back into the ring again.”
