Ben Askren came out firing earlier tonight (Fri., Mar. 26, 2021) when he stepped on stage with Jake Paul for their official pre-fight press conference (replay HERE). The two athletes will collide on Apr. 17 in a boxing match live on FITE pay-per-view from inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Askren, who is a betting underdog entering his professional boxing debut, is hoping to prove that his MMA experience will be enough to finally shut the door on Paul’s growing combat career. “Funky” has a lot of work to do considering he’s never possessed dangerous striking, but the former MMA world champion is still confident entering his fight with Paul.
During the pre-fight press conference, Askren reminded Paul how badly he’d beat him if they met outside of the boxing ring, which is something that seemed to really bother the YouTube star.
“If you and I ran into each other in a back alley in Las Vegas and I wanted to do a homicide,” began Askren.
“Do it right now. Do it right now then. B*tch-made,” interrupted Paul.
“I would do a homicide on you if I wanted to,” added Askren.
The tension seemed real between the two, but Askren looked to be having a little fun with the younger Paul. “Funky” has been around the fight game for quite some time and has talked trash with the best of them. Paul may be confident, but Askren is nearly unflappable on the microphone.
“I’m gonna take it serious, but “the highest level of competition?” not even close,” said Askren. “I’m gonna have fun with this, that’s what I came for. Jake thinks he’s a high level boxer, I think he’s fairly delusional, I guess we’ll find out.”
Askren, who retired from MMA in 2019, is hoping that a victory over one Paul will lead to a fight with another. Remember, Jake’s brother, Logan Paul, is currently lined up to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. sometime this year. If “Funky” can take care of the younger social media star maybe he can land another big payday inside of the boxing ring.
“2021 seems like a tremendous year to beat up the whole Paul family,” he said.
To stream the entire Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren PPV card CLICK HERE.