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KSI and his Misfits Boxing promotion are back this Friday night. Headlining the show is YouTuber JMX and former NFL running back Le’Veon Bell. MF & DAZN: X Series 006 is filled with notable faces from the world of social media/cross-over boxing. There’s also a couple of names on there that actual combat sports fans might recognize, too.
The event happens on DAZN on Friday, April 21, 2023 at 8 p.m ET. The main event is expected to begin at around 9:51 p.m. ET.
Whether you know who these folks are or are just mildly curious, I’ve put together some previews here so you know what you’re going to be getting into once the fireworks begin.
Preview and Predictions
JMX vs. Le’Veon Bell
Joel Morris, or JMX, is a British YouTuber with a channel that boasts 2.43 million subscribers. His content is rather derivative, focused on reactions, gaming and beefs with other influencers. He’s 3-0 in crossover boxing having fought on two KSI undercards and once at a previous MF & DAZN: X Series card. He also has a pro MMA win under his belt via the Fame MMA UK promotion.
His most recent fight was at X Series 002 in October 2022. There he fought Ginty. Against his fellow influencer, JMX was consistently first to the punch utilizing his reach advantage and some entry-level boxing skills (which is a degree higher than most influencers on the scene). He did get cocky in the fight, though, leaving his hands low. He was punished for this with a stinging left hook that sent him sprawling to the canvas. He finished Ginty in the third round after a landing a combo against the ropes, which forced the corner to throw in the towel.
Here are the highlights for that:
Le’Veon Bell is a former running back who spent time with the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets. He has three Pro Bowl appearances under his belt (2014, 2016, 2017) and he retired in 2021 after spending a season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
His first fight was against fellow former running back Adrian Peterson in the Social Gloves promotion. He finished that fight in round 5 with a crushing counter-punch that dropped Peterson and put him out for the count. Check that out below:
In his second fight he fought former UFC fighter Uriah Hall. That was on the undercard of last year’s Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva. Against Hall he showed plenty of grit as he lasted the entire fight, losing out via a unanimous decision but avoiding any kind of embarrassment. As a boxer, though, he is terribly stiff and predictable. He did well at shrugging his way through Hall’s offence, but he simply could not close the distance and offer anything that could trouble the more experienced fighter.
The 6’5″ JMX will have a bit of a height advantage, and a lot of reach advantage, on Bell. He’s also six year’s younger. I expect JMX will be able to land on Bell at range and wrap him up when they get close (where Bell seems most dangerous). I doubt JMX can stop Bell (since Hall couldn’t), but I think he will be the more active fighter and be the one pushing the pace here, which will be enough for the judges.
Prediction: JMX by decision.
JustaMinx vs. Fangs
JustaMinx is a Twitch streamer and TikTok user she has over 2 million followers on each of those platforms. She fought at Creator Clash in 2022, where she beat YodelingHaley. She didn’t show much technique (barely anyone does at these things) but her punches looked like they landed hard, or at least harder than her opponent’s. That was enough to make her opponent turn away from the pressure, which just opened her up for more punches.
Fangs is a YouTuber and Twitch streamer who also has a presence on OnlyFans. She’s yet to debut in cross-over boxing. She was supposed to appear on an earlier Misfits Boxing card, but the opponent backed out.
There’s nothing to go on when it comes to assessing whether Fangs can fight, so my pick has to be with JustaMinx. I think experience will be the biggest factor here. JustaMinx knows what it’s like to get hit in the face, so she shouldn’t be shocked and want to pull the eject cord within the first 30 seconds (something we see sometimes with these influencers on their debuts). We have no idea how Fangs will react to getting hit, but if I were betting on this (which I am not and neither should you) I have to go with someone who has been there before.
Prediction: JustaMinx by TKO
NOTE: This bout was cancelled due to travel issues on the part of JustaMinx.
Chris Avila vs. Paul Bamba
Two guys with actual fight experience here. Chris Avila, famously the friend and training partner of Nate Diaz, has an 8-9 pro MMA record and has appeared in the UFC, Bellator and World Series of Fighting. In the UFC he lost decisions to Artem Lobov and Enrique Barzola before getting his walking papers from the promotion. As a boxer Avila has recent wins over Anthony Taylor and Mikhail Varshavski, both on Jake Paul undercards.
Paul Bamba has a pro boxing record of 5-2. He was supposed to fight Tommy Fury last year, but the fight was called off after Fury failed to make weight.
From limited available footage Bamba looks to be a free swinger who is liable to whiffing on big shots and leaving himself open. Avila, who is more tried and more tested, should be more controlled in there. I think Avila will be able to pepper away with his jab, avoid the big swings, and ride out to a judges’ decision. And I doubt Bamba can catch Avila with something surprising in this one, given how Avila has shown tremendous toughness in hanging in there with heavy hitting volume strikers in the past.
Prediction: Chris Avila by decision
Minikon vs. Jake The Viking
Minikon is a musician who has a 1-1 1 NC record and has appeared on Misfits Boxing before. He has a lot of movement, but that’s too his detriment. He throws his punches on the move, meaning he’s not putting any power into his shots. Jake The Viking is a YouTuber and paranormal investigator. He has no boxing experience so I can’t pick him against someone who has at least been around the block.
Prediction: Minikon by decision
Walid Sharks vs. Stamaur Mitchell
Walid Sharks has three cross-over boxing bouts under his belt and he’s shown some of that entry-level skill that is enough to over-power complete neophytes. In his last bout in Misfits Boxing he lost to Deen The Great after seemingly forgetting the rules of boxing. The bout was for Deen’s ICB world featherweight championship and Sharks looked great at first, hurting Deen with his jab.
However, in the third he was dropped with a huge counter. The referee tried to check on him, but Sharks walked to the corner, turning his back on the ref and eliciting a TKO. Sharks looked totally bemused by the decision. He’s fighting Stamaur Mitchell aka Ayye Pap, who has zero experience. I expect Sharks to overwhelm the newbie here.
Prediction: Walid Sharks by KO
Chase DeMoor vs. Stevie Knight
I’m not thrilled to see Chase DeMoor back in the ring. At X Series 003 he no-showed the weigh-ins and after his corner waved off his fight with Josh Brueckner I was worried he would fail the Glasgow coma test. From the first round onwards DeMoor looked either completely gassed or overcome by panic. I sincerely hope we see something different in this fight, but I’m honestly scared to see him in there based on the past performance. Stevie Knight is a YouTuber with no experience, but I’m taking no experience over what I saw last time from DeMoor.
Prediction: Steve Knight by corner stoppage (I hope)
Kimbo Slice Jr. vs. OJ Rosè
‘Baby Slice’ is of course the son of street fighting legend Kimbo Slice. The 30-year-old has a 3-3 pro MMA record with all of his fights coming in Bellator. His last fight there was a unanimous decision loss in 2020. Rosè has one cross-over boxing fight under his belt, a TKO over Lee Bolden. That win was a tag team fight, wearing headgear, so I’m not giving any credit for that win. Baby Slice knows how to fight and that should be enough here. Below is that tag team farce if you’re interested:
Prediction: Kimbo Slice Jr. by TKO
How can I stream JMX vs. Le’Veon Bell?
MF & DAZN: X Series 006 is available as part of DAZN subscriptions in over 200 countries.
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