Who Owns Social Gloves?

Austin McBroom founded Social Gloves in 2021 during the influencer boxing boom that followed early YouTube boxing events. His concept was a platform rivalry: YouTube creators versus TikTok creators in a tournament-style card that leveraged the two platforms' audiences against each other.

The first event, Social Gloves: Battle of the Platforms, took place on June 12, 2021, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. McBroom headlined against TikTok's Bryce Hall, winning by third-round TKO in a card that also featured musical performances by DJ Khaled, Lil Baby, and Migos. The event drew substantial pay-per-view buys and mainstream attention, appearing to validate the influencer boxing format at arena scale.

The aftermath revealed financial dysfunction. LiveOne, which handled the pay-per-view, and McBroom disputed proceeds, and fighters and contractors reported non-payment. Litigation followed, including Tayler Holder's lawsuit over his purse and LiveOne's $100 million defamation countersuit against McBroom, all settled in late 2021 and early 2022 with LiveOne paying $3 million to resolve the disputes. McBroom's Social Gloves entity reportedly filed for bankruptcy during the fallout.

A second event, Social Gloves 2, took place on September 10, 2022, at Los Angeles's Banc of California Stadium, headlined by McBroom's rematch loss to AnEsonGib by fourth-round knockout. The event drew less attention than the first and proved to be the promotion's last.

Since 2022, Social Gloves has been dormant. McBroom continued fighting under other promotions, winning by first-round knockout at BrandRisk 15 in August 2026, but the Social Gloves brand itself has staged no further events.