_1.jpg)
Mixed martial arts veteran Ben Askren, a former Bellator and ONE champion, admits he was surprised when Youtube star Jake Paul approached him for a pay-per-view boxing match.
In fact, Askren barely knew who Paul even was.
“Honestly, when he first called me out, I had heard the name but I didn’t know anything about him whatsoever,” Askren said to MMA Fighting. “I’m like why is this dude so famous? I can’t really figure it out for the life of me. I guess kids like him and sh-t.”
Askren will face Paul (2-0, 2 KOs) in a sanctioned boxing match on April 17th.
Paul made his pro debut in 2019, when he knocked out YouTube rival AnEsonGib in the first round. And then he brutally knocked out NBA veteran Nate Robinson in two rounds on the pay-per-view undercard to Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr.
Askren, who has 19 wins in MMA and retired after two defeats in the UFC, is not impressed with Paul’s performances.
“So I had seen the Nate Robinson [fight] and when I signed the deal I went back and watched the other one,” Askren explained. “The other one was really, really bad. I guess to his credit, he looks better against Nate Robinson but better against Nate Robinson? Nate Robinson looked like he didn’t spar one time for that fight. Better against Nate Robinson, I’m not sure that means better. Maybe Nate Robinson made him look that good.”
The MMA veteran believes their contest will send Paul packing his bags from the sport of boxing.
“With Jake Paul, now he did start [boxing] at 25 or something, he started two years ago. With the right environment and the right amount of time could he become elite? Yes. Do I think that’s what’s going to happen? No, I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen,” Askren said.
“I would venture to guess once this [boxing] thing starts getting serious [for Paul], I think that getting serious starts on April 17, he’s going to think twice about it. He’s going to think ‘wow, there’s a lot easier ways for me to make money in life. I kind of thought this was a good idea, I thought this was cool and now maybe I’m thinking twice about this.
“Maybe it’s one where he says that’s too hard or there’s easier ways to make money but I mean with someone who’s got that large of a following, I would anticipate there’s always someone he can fight to make some money. Maybe it’s not as much, maybe there’s a dip or something but I’m sure there’s some other YouTuber he can fight. I don’t even know who all these YouTubers are, I have no idea. But I’m sure there’s someone else he could pick who has an equally large following and they could get other people motivated to watch it.”