Dana White is backing Ben Askren to beat Jake Paul on April 17.
The UFC president told legendary boxers Mike Tyson and Zab Judah that he will be betting $1 million on ‘Funky’ to beat the “YouTube kid”.
Paul has looked impressive against extremely low-level opposition during his two-fight professional boxing career.
Most notably the 24-year-old picked up a highlight reel KO against former NBA player Nate Robinson on the undercard of Tyson’s exhibition fight with Roy Jones Jr.
Former Bellator & ONE Championship titleholder, Ben Askren, is the first real fighter Paul has fought.
The 36-year-old is known for his elite level grappling skills but has mixed it with some of the best strikers in MMA.
White appears to be extremely confident in Askren ahead of his boxing debut.
“Let’s be honest: Jake Paul is not a f*cking boxer – this guy’s a f*cking YouTube kid,” White said on the “Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson” podcast. “”Let me tell you about this kid: So the kid he’s going to fight is a wrestler, a real good wrestler, a decorated wrestler, but he’s actually fought real guys. He’s been a world champion in other organizations.”
“He talks a lot of sh*t,” White said of Paul. “We’re going to find out. I hope you can bet on this thing because I’ll f*cking bet a million dollars that he loses this f*cking fight. A million dollars that he loses this fight.” (Transcribed by MMA Junkie)
White’s comments quickly got back to Paul who is willing to back himself to the tune of $2 million.
“Dana let’s double the bet up! $2 Million,” Paul wrote alongside a clip of him reacting to White’s comments. “We wire the money into escrow. $4 million total. Winner takes all. My team will be in touch to make a contract. After I knockout Ben, we can set up Jake Paul Vs. Dana White 2021 since you consider yourself a “Boxer” and me a “YouTuber.””
Dana let’s double the bet up! $2 Million. We wire the money into escrow. $4 million total. Winner takes all. My team will be in touch to make a contract. After I knockout Ben, we can set up Jake Paul Vs. Dana White 2021 since you consider yourself a “Boxer” and me a “YouTuber”
pic.twitter.com/QoHnbRvpHl
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) March 11, 2021
Is Dana White right? Will Ben Askren beat Jake Paul on April 17?