YouTuber star turned boxer Jake Paul is only following two accounts on Instagram. The social media platform Triller, and the wife of his next opponent, Ben Askren.
Askren and Paul are slated to meet in an eight-round boxing exhibition match on April 17. While the fight is still months away, the pair are already ramping up the trash talk.
That trend continued on Monday, when Paul appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show and was asked why he’s following Askren’s wife.
“She thicc bro,” Paul said. “With two Cs. Like T-h-i-c-c. She’s real thicc. I don’t know. I just thought she was bad. So maybe after I beat Ben…”
While Paul thankfully trailed off before saying too much more, he said more than enough to earn a response from Askren.
The former ONE and Bellator welterweight champion seems to have taken Paul’s comments about his wife in stride.
This is laugh out loud awkward!!! But yes @jakepaul I find my wife very attractive also LOL. https://t.co/hNOFIchPa7
— Funky (@Benaskren) January 27, 2021
“This is laugh out loud awkward,” Askren wrote. “But yes @jakepaul I find my wife very attractive also LOL.”
While this bit of trash talk from Paul fell flat, he’s certainly made no secret of his plans for the fight with Askren, vowing to turn the lights out on the mixed martial arts veteran early.
“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 after the fight was announced.
“Me, on the other hand, I started boxing two years ago and I’m still going to knock his ass out faster than Masvidal. 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.”