The Shortlist of Celebrity Boxers Who Are Actually Good

Most celebrities like to have a side hustle just in case their primary talent doesn’t bring in the big bucks that they expected. But for the majority of famous faces, that means lending their likeness to advertisement campaigns or other promotional activities. It doesn’t mean entering a dangerous arena where there’s a high risk that they’ll get hurt. Yet celebrity boxers are on the rise.

Some celebrities have been encouraged to enter the boxing ring to fight. Of course, this is rarely something they do just for money; they do it because the sport is their passion and they want to test themselves. But also because of the money! And as surprising as it may seem, some celebrities are pretty handy with boxing gloves on, and can more than hold their own. So who are the best celebrity boxers? Let’s take a look.

I respect boxing too much to respect what that was. If that was indeed a real boxing match it will be ruled a no contest or disqualification.

pic.twitter.com/YgNa7HIt3m

— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) May 13, 2023

The Celebrity Boxing Shortlist

Jake Paul

There’s no question that Jake Paul is the best celebrity boxer. People may not like him, but his track record shows that he deserves to be at the top of the list. He’s knocked out many of the people that he’s stepped into the ring with, including Nate Robinson and Tyron Woodley, a former UFC champion. But it was his 2022 fight against Anderson Silva, another world-renowned fighter, that really cemented Jake Paul’s reputation as a formidable fighter. 

Jake Paul’s next fight is against UFC legend Nate Diaz. Jake Paul is currently the favorite with the oddsmakers. There are also a number of free bet offers available on comparison site Oddschecker which can be used to place a wager with less risk.

Logan Paul

Logan Paul has not (yet) won a boxing match, but take a look at who he’s fought, and that’ll make sense. Well, at least one of them will make sense. Paul brother fought Floyd Mayweather, one of the all-time great boxers, back in 2021. In truth, not that many people were backing Logan Paul in the fight. In the end, he admittedly held his own pretty well. Weather Mayweather had the foot off the gas is speculative.

No winner was announced, but Paul did manage to land 12% of his punches, an impressive rate all things considered against one of the all-time greats. The YouTuber is currently injured, but it’s expected that he’ll make his return to the boxing ring sometime later in 2023. 

KSI

Jake Paul and his brother may be at the top of the YouTuber boxer list, but KSI is a close third. He’s a skilled boxer, but that’s not why he deserves to be so highly ranked. No, he deserves his place because of the contribution that he made to celebrity boxing. It was his fight against Joe Weller that really pushed YouTube boxing into the limelight. That bout took place at a sold-out venue in London, the Copper Box Arena.

He then went on to fight Logan Paul at the Staples Center, before later selling out London’s O2 Arena, where he defeated both rapper Swarmz and boxer Luis Alcaraz Pineda in one night. There aren’t too many professional boxers that could sell out those arenas, so KSI is clearly popular with audiences, which is always a big plus point for boxers.

Mark Wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg is the only non-YouTuber on the list. While he’s never fought in a real-world bout, his skills in the ring are well-known, especially if you’ve seen the movie The Fighter, where he played fighter Micky Ward.

While Wahlberg was only acting in the movie, it takes a lot of training to pull off convincing boxing moves, and it was clear that the Boston actor knew what he was doing. In fact, his style was so convincing that Conor McGregor even suggested that they fight for real in front of a live audience. Sadly for us, Wahlberg declined. The actor is still involved in the boxing world, however, as he is a partner in a company that manages boxers. 

Is Celebrity Boxing the Future of Boxing?

As we’ve seen, there are some impressive celebrities currently making their mark in the boxing world. Of course, it’s unlikely that celebrity boxers will ever truly compete at the highest level — you can’t imagine Jake Paul fighting Tyson Fury, for example — but there is growing interest in the spectator sport. And that suggests that it might be here to stay.