UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley says he is excited for the “sloppy” boxing match between Ben Askren and Jake Paul and shared his prediction.
O’Malley returns to the Octagon this Saturday night when he faces Thomas Almeida at UFC 260. Speaking to the media ahead of this weekend’s pay-per-view card, O’Malley shared his thoughts on the upcoming Askren vs. Paul boxing match and predicted the winner.
“I would like to go. I want to go to that. Jake vs. Ben, who do I got? There’s not a lot of fights that excite me, and this ain’t gonna be the best boxing fight, this ain’t going to be a technical boxing fight, but I’m excited for this fight. I’m going to watch it. I’m going to be excited fight week. I’m going to watch any (promo shows) or whatever they are putting out, I’m going to watch it. I want to see that fight. I don’t know. Ben vs. Jake. It’s exciting,” O’Malley said.
“It’s going to be a sloppy, sloppy fight. Ben is going to make it sloppy which is good for him. Jake looks like he’s been training hard, he’s young, he’s athletic. So if he doesn’t beat Ben Askren then we’ll see where he goes from there. He has to beat Ben. He has to beat Ben to show he’s a legitimate boxer.”
Asked to give his prediction, O’Malley said he would have to choose Paul to win.
“I want to say Jake (wins) because he’s going to be a good boxer, but Ben’s such a good competitor. It’s not going to be a good boxing fight, it’s going to be grueling. I hope Jake doesn’t come in there and put his lights out in the first round, he’ll gas. I think Ben will be there for the full eight rounds, I don’t think Ben’s going to gas. If Jake stays calm during fight week, stays calm during fight day, doesn’t blow his load in the first couple rounds, then I think he can outbox him. If he stays behind his jab and doesn’t let Ben do what he wants to do, then I think Jake can get the job done,” O’Malley said.
Do you agree with the prediction Sean O’Malley made about Ben Askren vs. Jake Paul?