Youtube star Logan Paul has claimed that a fight-week cold was a factor in his performance, as he lost a six round split decision on Saturday night to rival KSI at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The judges saw it 57-54 and 56-55 in favor of KSI, while a third had it 56-55 for Paul.

They initially met in 2018 in Manchester, with a controversial draw coming down on the cards. That contest took place under amateur rules. The rematch, however, took place under professional rules with both men going pro for the fight.

Paul had two points deducted in the fourth round, after dropping KSI with an uppercut. Referee Jack Reiss felt Paul held KSI's head in position to land a second uppercut, which resulted in the knockdown, and took a second point because Paul struck KSI while he was down.

Paul claims that he was sick for the last three days and didn't have the necessary physical tools to pull out the win.

"I think nine out of 10 times I beat [KSI]. Tonight was the night that one out 10 times. Can you hear my voice? I’m sick. I woke up sick. I’ve been sick for the past three days. First thing I did this morning was sneeze, three times. I’ve been sneezing throughout the whole day," Paul said. 

Paul claims that he wanted to take Ibuprofen before the fight, but his trainer, former heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs, advised him not to do that as it would "mess up" his heart rate.

Paul said he "tried to push through it" and "hoped [his] adrenalin would take care of the sickness."

"If I’m being honest with you, it took away that killer instinct that I’ve had this whole two months in sparring. That is the worst performance that I’ve had in the last two months. Something changed today. I had a talk with my brother backstage and we got a little emotional, it’s like there’s something in me that has a problem taking it from 99 to 100 and crossing that finishing line in boxing and wanting to hurt the man in the ring," Paul said.

"I’ll talk in front of the media and at press conferences all day and say I want to hurt [KSI], but let’s be honest, I hope [KSI] is alive and f---ing well for the rest of his life. I don’t know if I’m that animal, or at least today anyway I wasn’t. He got off the hook."