One of KSI’s opponents for his upcoming double fight, Ivan Nikolov is expected to be removed from the bout following claims he's a Neo-Nazi.
The YouTuber announced he would be taking part in two fights on August 27 after his original opponent Alex Wassabi withdrew on medical grounds.
Wassabi had initially been replaced with rapper Swarmz, leading to backlash from fans, which is when KSI decided he needed to up the ante by adding another opponent.
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The 29-year-old announced he would also be facing a Bulgarian pro boxer named ‘Ivan Nikolov’ quipping that he’s fighting ‘a pro boxer before Jake Paul did’.
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However, less than 24 hours after the announcement, racist allegations came out against Nikolov who was accused of sporting tattoos which read ‘White Power’ and ‘Blood & Honour’ - the name of a Neo-Nazi group from the UK.
The Bulgarian has since been removed from any promotional material surrounding the fight on DAZN Boxing’s social media.
The sport streaming service has also uploaded a photo hyping up upcoming fights on the platform with no specific mention of Nikolov.
The August 27th fight has instead been advertised as ‘2 fights, 1 night’ and is set to be featuring KSI and Swarmz.
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So it seems as though the two fight idea may still be going ahead for the musician, however, it looks as if Nikolov won’t be involved.
Meanwhile, the Bulgarian shared a report from media outlet The Jungle Sports which announced that the fight had been canceled.
Nikolov said of the news: “I was about to knock out this decorative rooster. The problem came from DAZN TV not the rapper. But this is the situation, I thought at the time, but there was nothing.”
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The fighter had responded to the backlash on his Facebook account: “I have seen recent news regarding a tattoo referring to 'White Power'. This has absolutely no relevance to an outdated opinion, and simply refers to my own belief in my strength and power as an athlete.
"I have no criminal record, or involvement with the police, regarding any racial issues."
He then added: "I now understand how the tattoo can be misinterpreted, but I passionately distance myself from any other meaning it may have other than representing my force as a competitor.”
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The statement has since been deleted from the fighter’s accounts.
While the news hasn’t been officially confirmed by either KSI or DAZN, it appears the broadcaster is distancing itself from the Bulgarian boxer for the time being.
However, with the fight still being advertised as a massive double-bout it is expected a new opponent will be revealed before the August 27th date.
Jayden Collins