His Excellency, Turki Alalshikh, has grabbed the boxing world’s attention with quite possibly the last major pay-per-view of the year. After their hellish battle in May, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are going to face each other in a matter of few hours and everyone wants to be part of this historic rematch.

One of those personalities is popular streamer IShowSpeed, who was present at the event’s official weigh-in ceremony. Furthermore, His Excellency also gifted the YouTube sensation an official ‘The Ring’ magazine issue for the fight. However, this move by the Saudi billionaire massively backfired as fans started questioning the decision to invite Speed to such a massive sporting event.

Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2: Return of the Bible of Boxing

His Excellency took to his ‘X’ and shared pictures of IShowSpeed, real name Darren Watkins, holding and signing the newest issue of ‘The Ring’ magazine. Last month, the Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority acquired ‘The Bible of Boxing’ in a widely celebrated move. Furthermore, HE Alalshikh also mentioned reintroducing the printed edition of the century-old publication after a two-year hiatus. A few days ago, the Riyadh Season head revealed the inaugural edition of the magazine featuring animated images of Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury on the cover.

Furthermore, the 19-year-old YouTuber also posted some clips from the weigh-in on his Instagram story and thanked “Your Excellency for this amazing magazine. Good luck for your furure man.” While the online streamer was having the time of his life, boxing fans were having none of it. They mocked the 19-year-old in the comments and urged His Excellency to not associate with him for such a prestigious event.

Boxing fans and their dislike for IShowSpeed

A fan wrote, “Seriously????? I was hoping you would keep boxing clean and traditional. Away from all these toxic content creators,” claiming that His Excellency should have only invited boxing personalities rather than online creators to such a historic event.

Another boxing fan, going through the same turmoil, wrote, “Is this what boxing has come to?” According to the fan, association with social media influencers is only going to hurt the sport and brand that His Excellency is trying to create.

A user, while accepting the fact that IShowSpeed is quite entertaining, claimed that he should stay away from such an event. He wrote, “I find Darren Watkins entertaining sometimes. But, this one is bigger than him and downgrading the sport.” The user claimed that Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2 is far bigger than any social media influencer and His Excellency should have invited personalities associated with the sport..

Another user fuming by this collaboration wrote, “Cmon, Turk. L.” While the boxing fandom has widely praised almost every decision by HE Alalshikh, this is where everyone is drawing the line.

Amidst the raging backlash, few fans loved this collaboration. A fan wrote, “We need to see Speed&Ronaldo together please.” It is a widely known fact that Speed idolizes five-time Balon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo. His obsession with the Portuguese footballer has helped him connect with the fans on a deeper level. The YouTuber has met Ronaldo once. However, the fans are craving more meetings between these two and requested His Excellency to make it happen.

Many traditional boxing fans seem to hate associating a social media influencer with such an event, but maybe this exposure is exactly what the sport needs right now. No matter what you think about Speed, the 19-year-old amasses a huge following on social media. His collaboration with such an event is only going to get more eyes on the sport. Something that boxing desperately needs. So, while many fans hate this idea, in the long run, it is only going to help the sport they deeply adore.

What are your views on IShowSpeed being associated with the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2? Let us know your thoughts down below.