Why this L.A. TikTok star dreamed of boxing glory
LOS ANGELES — Michael Le had prepared months for this moment — and it wasn't going well.
The TikTok star, who built a huge following with his viral choreographed dance moves, found himself barely hanging on in the second round of a live-streamed boxing match at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Le was trapped in a corner of the ring, struggling to fend off a barrage of punishing punches from his opponent, British YouTuber Jarvis Khattri.
With only one of his prescription contacts remaining, Le didn't see Khattri's right cross punch. He fell backward and his head slammed against the ropes, as his body slid to the ground.
"Boom! Lights out," a commentator yelled. Memes proliferated online celebrating the knockout punch.
"I was like, bro, three months all being down to this," Le said in a YouTube video posted days after the fight. "I was extremely pissed."
Le was down, but not out. Despite the humiliating defeat in June, months later the Los Angeles resident began training for his next fight. Why would this 21-year-old multimillionaire — who is among TikTok's most popular creators with nearly 52 million followers — subject himself to such punishment?
The answer says as much about Le's pride as it does about the growing —
