How Dexerto’s James Sellers trained to be a boxer in 8 days
DexertoDexerto’s James Sellers hopped into the world of influencer-boxing with just eight days to prepare. Here’s how he pulled it off — and what it took to get him there.
The world of influencer boxing has exploded in popularity, thanks in no small part to KSI’s famous bouts against Logan Paul in 2018 and 2019.
Ever since then, it seems like almost every influencer wants to try their hand in the boxing ring… so when an opportunity came up for a fighter to take part in a fight on Misfits 008, Dexerto’s former Senior Producer and Reverse Sweep host James Sellers leapt to the challenge.
The problem was that James had never actually boxed before — and he only had eight days to train before his match against Youtuber Brandon Herrera took place on July 22, 2023.
Dexerto goes behind the scenes with James Sellers for Misfits 008
Luckily, James managed to find a perfect trainer who was willing to take him on; Eddie Jackson, a professional mixed martial artist and instructor at 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu. We went behind the scenes with James to document his training and the key moments leading up to fight night.
Eddie worked with James to get him down to weight, which was a daunting task, as he had to lose eight lbs in just eight days. Eventually, James made his way to the boxing ring, dodging drama from his fellow combatants left and right between explosive media workouts and press conferences.
“It’s f*ckin’ nuts,” Eddie Jackson said of Sellers’ boxing training. “It’s almost stupid, to tell you the truth. But there’s always a chance something bad could happen, but that’s what helps the sport. That’s the whole excitement of the sport.”
Although James fought hard, he ended up getting defeated by Herrera by TKO (and got a nice bloody nose, in the process).
“I saw him counting in the corner of my eye, I saw Eddie in my corner,” James said of his fight. “I had so many emotions going through me.
“Everything was kind of like a blur, but I do remember standing there when they were announcing Brandon as the winner, and as I walked back toward the locker room, is when I started getting filled with like, ‘I did this. I’m proud.'”
Although James described the experience as the “craziest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life,” he walked away from the experience feeling accomplished and fulfilled — and we here at Dexerto couldn’t be prouder.
For more influencer boxing news, check out our hub of all influencer boxing matches taking place in 2023.