Jake Paul has responded to Ben Askren’s prediction of a seventh round knockout.
Askren vs. Paul was made official earlier today, as the two are set to collide in a boxing match on April 17 promoted by Triller.
Despite being know predominantly for his wrestling, Ben Askren is extremely confident that he will be able to defeat Paul.
The former Bellator and ONE champion, Askren (19-2 MMA), recently spoke with TMZ Sports where he issued the following bold prediction for his fight with Jake Paul.
“My goal in fighting was never to box somebody. My goal was to get through the punches and kicks and get to the takedowns and 99% of the time that worked. Obviously, there is one time it didn’t work, unfortunately (against Jorge Masvidal). My training was very focused on that. That being said, obviously, I’m going to have to change up what I was doing striking wise a little bit. But listen, he’s a f*cking YouTube star. I’m going to beat him up,” Ben Askren said of his upcoming fight with Jake Paul.
“I have not been blessed with big power. I’m incredibly slow-twitch muscle fibers. So I don’t think it won’t be more that I hit him and he goes down. But I think it will be more like over the course of eight rounds he realizes, ‘Holy sh*t, I’m in a fight. I don’t really like this. I’m a spoiled rich kid. I’m just going to find an easy way out.’ It’s going to be a TKO. Round six, round seven, something to that effect,” Askren concluded.
Jake Paul caught word of the former MMA champions bold prediction and simply scoffed at the notion of losing to ‘Funky’ by knockout.
https://twitter.com/ESPNRingside/status/1354234964313858056
“I don’t think Ben Askren will even hit me. That’s my prediction.” – Paul said.
‘Funky’ issued a quick response asking the boxing newcomer how many bitcoins he wanted to bet.
https://twitter.com/Benaskren/status/1354237411082051590
“Lol. How many Bitcoins does he wanna bet?” – Askren responded.
Jake Paul (2-0) is brimming with confidence following his devastating knockout victory over Nate Robinson this past fall. The YouTube sensation has allegedly “devoted himself” to boxing and plans to challenge Nate Diaz after defeating Askren this April.
Meanwhile, Ben Askren retired from MMA following his submission loss to Demian Maia at UFC Singapore in October of 2019.
Who do you think will emerge victorious in April’s ‘Askren vs. Paul’ fight? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!