KSI v Logan Paul 2: YouTube boxers face Anthony Joshua-style battle to get fit for £150million fight, says Instagram guru Alex Crockford
KSI and Logan Paul must not fall foul of the Anthony Joshua curse before their £150million YouTube boxing contest, according to Instagram fitness guru Alex Crockford.
Many criticised AJ for failing to achieve the right balance between raw strength, mental toughness and pure fitness in his shock defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr.
For Crockford, who has built up a 273,000-strong following on Instagram from his tips and routines on how to stay in top shape, boxers at any level must not get sucked into ignoring their flaws.
Speaking to SunSport ahead of KSI v Logan Paul 2, he says: "A lot of boxing is having the strength but being able to go for many rounds, if the fight goes on they need the muscular endurance as well as the strength.
"I'm not really sure whether Anthony Joshua was a lack of experience in the ring or the fitness per se but definitely, I think people lean towards one or the other depending on what their natural genetic strength is - a lot of us do lean towards more thicker-set, stronger type.
"Other people seem to be fitter, leaner, lighter and have more physical endurance - so they lean towards that way - which gives us strengths and weaknesses.
"What makes you a great all-round athlete is leaning into the thing that you're not good at and trying to improve upon that."
Boxing is not just about being good at hitting things though, as responding to mental and physical blows is another key aspect of the contest.
There is something humbling about being laid into, particularly when you don't expect it in the case of Joshua, and both KSI and Logan Paul will need ways of coping if any panic sets in on November 9.
Crockford adds: "It's so hard to prepare for something that is as unique as being in a ring with millions of people watching you and things going wrong.
"But I think they are both extremely confident and they are both very comfortable with being in the public eye and they've probably been under pressure so much already.
"So they probably have natural skills in being able to deal with panic moments, even if they are slightly out of their comfort zone in a boxing fight.
"I think it will really show their characters because fitness, boxing and fighting really strips away those layers and humbles you, like we saw with AJ coming into a fight so confident, like KSI and Logan Paul are by taunting eachother.
"Having to deal with a loss or even another draw will show their character inside of them.";
The YouTube stars infamously drew their first encounter in Manchester last year and Logan Paul welcomes his English counterpart to the States as the slight favourite.
Crockford sees only fine margins between the fighters but KSI's potential power advantage makes for an interesting bout.
He notes: "They're both pretty tall but Logan Paul is a bit taller, which has made him slightly leaner, faster, with a reach and may have that endurance over KSI who looks a bit thicker set.
"[KSI] may have a stronger punch and that will play towards their strengths and weaknesses but you don't know how it's going to go."
Fans might expect both fighters to be on a strict diet of traditionally nutritious food but Crockford feels that fatty foods such as pizza and fry-ups won't actually wreck their progress, given their intent to fuel their body for big gym workouts.
The influencer continues: "They would be having 3-4,000 calories per day. They would be having lots of regular meals throughout the day, eating before maybe during and after as well.
"I think people get confused that being in shape is about being restrictive but when you're training that hard you're actually eating a lot.
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"It's certainly not optimal to be eating pizzas and fry-ups, if they were taking it seriously, but it's not like they are on a fat loss journey or trying to transform their body.
"So it wouldn't really make as much an impact as people would assume because of their amount of training - they would easily get away with it but they wouldn't get the best results."
KSI and Logan Paul are set to bank a cool £30m-£40m each from the contest, which takes place in Los Angeles on November 9.
