Why Big TikTok Creators Are Fighting Famous YouTube Influencers

Following the trend of influencers boxing created by the Paul brothers and KSI, TikTok and YouTube superstars have recently released a new influencer fighting card named “Social Gloves.”

Marketed as a competition between TikTok and YouTube creators, each fight will occur between influencers of differing platforms. Headlining the event, Bryce Hall of TikTok (19.5M followers) will take on Austin McBroom of YouTube (19M subscribers).

The card boasts many other significant influencers, namely some of the following:

• Deji (10.2M subscribers)
• Tayler Holder (18.6M followers)
• Danny Duncan (5.5M subscribers)
• Vinnie Hacker (6.6M followers)
• FaZe Jarvis (4.4M subscribers)
• Tanner Fox (10.4M subscribers)

Neither YouTube nor TikTok are formally associated with the event, regardless of the narrative used during the marketing campaigns. 

The “TikTok vs. YouTube” trend is undoubtedly a relevant topic of discussion. It has recently risen to prominence amidst TikTok’s period of what seems like global dominance in the social entertainment industry. Today, TikTok has over 2 billion downloads worldwide and nearly 700 million monthly users, placing it as one of the top internet platforms. 

Social Gloves is being created in tandem with LiveXLive, a platform primarily used for music streaming. Set for June 5th, no pricing on the pay-per-view card has been released as of now.

Shares of LiveXLive ($LIVX) have soared since the announcement, as future price targets were raised by almost 50%.  

Multiple big-ticket influencers are also expected to perform at the event, although no lineup has been publicly announced.

The card also features two ambiguous sections labeled “you pick,” where fans will soon get to choose the matchups of YouTuber Danny Duncan and TikTok creator Tayler Holder, indicating that there will be new updates to the card based on a public vote.

Some tensions between the respective influencers have been rising for months, which will make it interesting to see the intensity at which the fights play out. Many boxing fans will be expecting a certain level of preparedness from the influencers. The quality of their beforehand training will have a significant impact on how seriously the contests are taken.