Askren free to go for takedowns and still get paid

It seems as though Ben Askren can go for takedowns in his boxing match with Jake Paul and still get paid.

Jake Paul recently told MMA Junkie that Ben Askren risked losing his whole payday if he threw any MMA moves during their boxing match this weekend.

“We just signed the bout agreement days ago. He will lose his purse if he does that,” said Paul. “If he does do something like that, his purse is eliminated in the bout agreement. If he wants to lose all the money for the fight, then sure, go ahead. I am beating him up in wrestling shoes. He’s going to get beat up in wrestling shoes, which I think is hilarious.”

Askren offered a three-word rebuttal of the interview: “This is false”.

MMA Fighting spoke to a source with knowledge of the contracts involved in this weekend’s boxing spectacular spectacle. According to their information Paul is mistaken and that there is nothing in Askren’s bout agreement that says he will forfeit his pay if he, for example, attempted a takedown.

The source told MMA Fighting that Askren would receive warnings for MMA tactics and that if he ignored those warnings he could be disqualified from the bout. However, that would not cost him his purse.

Matt Woodruff, the executive director of the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission, told MMA Fighting that there were no special rules in place for the eight-round pro boxing match. He also said there was no risk of Askren losing his purse for MMA moves.

“Obviously, Ben is a former MMA fighter, so we’ll have a conversation with him in the locker room to note that it’s boxing, and there will be no takedowns,” said Woodruff. “But in terms of sanctions or anything Jake has said, nothing has been relayed to us. We’ll have a rules meeting with all the fighters individually before the fight.”

So it looks like Askren might be able to get away with a cheeky takedown and still get paid. We’ll see if that happens this Saturday night.