Ben Askren fancies his chances in the boxing ring against YouTube star Jake Paul.
The former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight titleholder retired last year after suffering successive defeats against Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia. Since then he has undergone an operation on his hip but recently said ‘never say never’ when asked about a potential comeback fight.
Paul is preparing to face off against former NBA player Nate Robinson on the undercard of Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. which is set to take place this coming Saturday (November 28). During the build-up to his fight, the 23-year-old has been talking about who he may face next. Paul believes his striking is already better than the majority of MMA fighters and called out several high-profile names including Askren.
On the latest episode of MMA Fighting’s ‘What The Heck’, Askren responded to the call out and spoke with confidence about his ability to outbox Paul, he said.
“Jake Paul wants to box me. I don’t know, I’m not a boxer but I could beat up a bum YouTube celebrity.”
“It would be something to do because you could say I did it,” Askren added. “I don’t gotta go box f*ckin Roy Jones and get my ass whooped or nothing. But I could box some YouTube bum and get paid for it? What a tremendous livelihood.”
‘Funky’ previously responded to Jake’s brother, Logan Paul who put out an open invite for a celebrity to come challenge him on the wrestling mat.
“Logan Paul came at me last year—I think that’s his brother or some sh*t,’ Askren said. “I don’t know what their deal is, but I think he wanted to wrestle somebody and I said, ‘We don’t have to do a full match, but I’ll pin you in under a minute. No problem, bubba.’ He obviously did not accept the challenge because he pretty much knows how that would go down.”
Do you think Ben Askren could outbox Jake Paul?