YouTuber Jake Paul set to face former UFC star Ben Askren in 8-round pro-boxing bout

YouTuber Jake Paul will fight former UFC welterweight Ben Askren in an eight-round professional boxing bout on April 17, 2021. The Problem Child has been calling out former UFC double champion Conor McGregor for a boxing bout ever since he defeated NBA veteran Nate Robinson in November 2020. However, with McGregor focusing on his MMA career and losing his recent bout to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257, its looks like the younger Paul brother has switched targets.

According to ESPN (via TalkSport), Jake Paul will face Ben Askren under the Triller Fight Club banner, the same organisation which hosted the highly-profitable Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr event, where Paul knocked out Robinson. The location of Jake Paul vs Ben Askren is yet to be announced, but it is reported that the event will be streamed live on various PPV platforms.

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Jake Paul vows to knock out Ben Askren faster than Jorge Masvidal

While talking to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Triller founder Ryan Kavanaugh said that the former UFC star will make his boxing debut in a 20×20-foot ring with ten-ounce gloves. While speaking about the surprising bout, Jake Paul told Helwani that he would knock out Ben Askren faster than Jorge Masvidal. The Gamebred stopped the former welterweight in just “five seconds” at UFC 239 in July 2019, breaking the fastest KO record.

“The world complained because I knocked out a basketball player and not a real fighter. So now I’m giving the people what they want by taking on a real fighter,” he added.

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Though Ben Askren retired from the sport a few years ago, he holds an impressive record of 19-1-1. Apart from that, he’s a former two-time Division 1 NCAA wrestling champion, and a former One Championship champion. However, ‘Funky’ is known for his wrestling and is not an acclaimed striker. Because of this, some believe that Jake Paul would have an upper hand against him in boxing.

Jake Paul is also new to boxing as he went pro just a few months ago. However, he has won his last two bouts, despite it being against fighters with zero boxing background. "I don’t know why people actually think he's good. I watched the Nate Robinson fight. I thought, 'Holy s--t, these guys are bad.' They’re really bad," Askren told TMZ Sports.

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Image Source: Jake Paul/ Instagram, UFC/ YouTube