Over the past few years, influencers have taken over boxing. YouTubers, streamers, and even doctors have tested themselves in the ring. They often face one another for bragging rights and money.
Jake Paul and KSI are two of the top influencers to enter boxing. However, Salt Papi has made a real dent in the YouTube boxing pound-for-pound rankings, and it's only a matter of time before he takes the top spot.
Salt Papi competes on the undercard of KSI vs. Joe Fournier on May 13. He faces boxer Anthony Taylor, who has fought Tommy Fury and Chris Avila. The fight, inside Wembley Arena in London, airs on DAZN PPV in the U.S.. It is the seventh installment of the MF & DAZN: X Series.
WATCH: KSI vs. Joe Fournier, live on DAZN PPV
The Sporting News looks into the career of Salt Papi and how he became one of the fastest-rising YouTube boxing stars today.
Who is Salt Papi?
Real name Nathaniel Bustamante, Salt Papi has 339K subscribers on YouTube and more than 4.5 million followers on TikTok. He quickly rose to fame when his Fake Run viral dance challenge videos went viral on that platform.
He also is known for seasoning food, imitating famous Turkish chef Salt Bae.
What titles has Salt Papi won?
In his boxing career, Salt Papi has not won any titles, including Misfits-specific gold.
What is Salt Papi's boxing record?
Salt Papi has a 3-0 boxing record, with two wins via knockout.
In early 2022, Salt Papi faced Halal Ham in an exhibition bout, winning via unanimous decision. In August 2022, Salt Papi beat Andy Warski via knockout, and in January this year, he knocked out Josh Brueckner.
MORE: All you need to know about KSI vs. Joe Fournier
He believes all other influencers are scared to fight him. It comes after fighters such as Ryan Garcia and Sunny Edwards encouraged him to fight in the legitimate pro ranks.
"All the influencers don't want smoke," Salt Papi told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour via MMA Fighting. "They don't want the smoke, that's why I have to fight real fighters. They’re just scared. They're scared of my knockout punching power. They don't want to go to sleep. I also like a real challenge, so that's why I'm fighting this guy. I would be scared as well if I was them. If I see this guy knocking out Josh Brueckner, six-foot-one, MMA fighter, just like that with one punch, I would be scared, too."