KSI’s boxing opponent sports ‘white power’ tattoo

Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

KSI’s latest boxing opponent appears to be a full-fledged neo-Nazi after pictures emerged of his white supremacist tattoos.

The English rapper and YouTuber is scheduled to face Ivan Nikolov, a Bulgarian boxer with a 3-18 pro record and a series of hateful tattoos, including the words “white power” emblazoned across his stomach.

Nikolov also sports a “Blood & Honour” tattoo on his left forearm, which refers to the extremist skinhead group founded in the United Kingdom, and a three-pointed swastika that serves as the logo for the racist group. He also has a Celtic cross surrounded by a circle—one of the most commonly used white supremacist symbols—and an SS (Schutzstaffel) logo representing the paramilitary organization responsible for much of the crimes committed by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party.

Lastly, Nikolov has a “white madness” tattoo on the top of his head.

While concern regarding Nikolov’s hateful tattoos began after YouTuber Kavos exposed the Bulgarian fighter on his channel, it is worth noting that boxer Daniel Blenda dos Santos commented on the tattoos following his April 2021 fight against Nikolov.

“When I saw his tattoos, some of them racist in nature [neo-nazi], I wanted to hurt him,” Dos Santos said at the time. “I am not disappointed to have had [a short fight]”

KSI’s boxing return is scheduled to take place on Aug. 27. However, it remains unclear whether Nikolov will be allowed to proceed with the fight given his abhorrent ink.

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About the author

Karim Zidan

Karim Zidan is a investigative reporter and feature writer focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. He has written for BloodyElbow since 2014 and has served as an associate editor since 2016. He also writes for The New York Times and The Guardian. Karim has been invited to speak about his work at numerous universities, including Princeton, and was a panelist at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum. He also participated in the United Nations counter-terrorism conference in 2021. His reporting on Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in MMA, much of which was done for Bloody Elbow, has led to numerous award nominations, and was the basis of an award-winning HBO Real Sports documentary.