The pros had some interesting reactions to the newly announced boxing match between YouTuber Jake Paul and former MMA champ Ben Askren.
Paul and Askren are slated to collide on pay-per-view on April 17. The pair will fight for eight rounds in ten-ounce gloves. The bout will not be an exhibition, but a professional bout.
Unsurprisingly, this boxing match between a YouTube star and a grappling specialist generated a wide range of reactions from the pair’s fellow fighters. See the best reactions below:
Jake Paul literally ran from me to fight this guy truly embarrassing. pic.twitter.com/2zliO9GeOs
advertisement – continue reading below— Dillon Danis (@dillondanis) January 26, 2021
https://twitter.com/Showtimepettis/status/1354094909448286208
https://twitter.com/KayHansenMMA/status/1354094202506756097
Id prefer to see him fight @AaronCGShore I reckon he’d whoop this joker @jakepaul he has better hands than Askren too! https://t.co/FT2ZtM9En0
— Michael Conlan (@mickconlan11) January 26, 2021
Battle of pube heads pic.twitter.com/PvNwseH27R
advertisement – continue reading below— Artem Lobov (@RusHammerMMA) January 26, 2021
https://twitter.com/IKEVF/status/1354094961097117702
Ben is most likely going to make some good money on this fight. I don’t see the issue with it. I’m glad he’s getting paid.
— ike vallie-flagg (@IKEVF) January 26, 2021
Paul and Askren were also both quick to share their initial reactions to fight.
Askren vowed to provide Paul with a rude awakening.
“I know Jake Paul is enjoying pretending he is a fighter,” Askren told ESPN. “I think on April 17 he is going to have a rude awakening to what being a fighter is really like. Jake has led a privileged life and doesn’t really know what the meaning of being a fighter is. I’m going to put his dreams to an end.”
Paul, on the other hand, praised Askren’s accolades as a former ONE Championship and Bellator titleholder, but ultimately vowed to knock his rival out.
“Ben Askren is a two-time NCAA champion, a world champion in two different global mixed martial arts organizations and has less losses on his record than Conor McGregor,” Paul told ESPN.
“Me, on the other hand, I started boxing two years ago and I’m still going to knock his ass out faster than [Jorge] Masvidal,” Paul added. “These MMA guys think because they throw punches they know how to box. 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.’ After Ben Askren is added to my knockout meme collection, what can anybody say? Thank you to Triller Fight Club for giving me the platform to once again put a man to sleep. April 17, it’s lights out for Askren.”
What are your thoughts on this newly announced Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren fight?