Jake Paul Is Finally Fighting An Actual Fighter
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) via pennlive
Jake Paul is officially fighting an actual fighter. The Youtube star and former Bellator MMA champion Ben Askren have agreed to an 8-round boxing match scheduled to be broadcast via Triller PPV on April 17.
I don’t know what to think of this. On one end I feel like this is disrespectful to the sport of boxing as a whole and fighters like Manny Pacquiao are looking down upon this cringing. On the other end, as a spectator, this makes for some entertaining TV.
I’ve never been shy to say I’m not Jake Paul’s biggest fan, so I am really looking forward to seeing him get dropped come April. It’s comical. After Paul beat five foot nothing Nate Robinson in his last fight, his ego (somehow) got even bigger. Paul called out just about every major fighter there is, claiming he is ready to prove he is a “real boxer” and not just a youtuber.
He’s right, this is his chance to show whether he is a real fighter or not. If he wins, he has every right to talk as much shit as he wants all over the internet; but if he loses, I never want to hear about a Jake Paul fight again.
Even though he didn’t end up landing an agreement with a major name like Conor McGregor, Ben Askren is no scrub. Askren, aka “Funky,” is quite the accomplished athlete. He is a two-time Division-1 wrestling champ, a former olympian, former Bellator MMA champion, and previously held an undefeated record in the UFC before losing the final two fights of his career.
Notice how all of his accolades center around wrestling and his ground game. This is going to spice things up a bit as Askren has never been considered an elite stand up fighter. Regardless of where Askren’s expertise lies, he has fought some absolute freaks in the octagon and managed to come out on top. Paul shouldn’t be much trouble for the vet.
This fight is going to be one of, if not the biggest Pay Per View events of the year based on the hype. I’ll give Jake Paul one thing, he knows how to bring in an audience. Whether or not 90% of that audience hates him is besides the point…
I’m looking forward to the media days leading up to the fight almost as much as the fight itself. Paul is a massive personality but Askren is also well-known within the MMA community for his sarcastic slander.
Even after getting knocked out in 5 seconds against Jorge Masvidal, Askren plans to keep the trash talking coming. Only a few days after the fight was announced, the shit storm has already commenced.
Askren raises some good points here. He has received a ton of criticism from boxing fans asking why he would take the fight to begin with, and the answer is simple -- money, lots and lots of money. Askren is getting paid more for this boxing match than any of his previous MMA bouts, so why the hell not?
It’s a win win: Askren gets a massive paycheck and also has the opportunity to go down in history as the guy that finally shut up that annoying kid from Youtube. The only downside is if Askren loses to Paul, he’ll become another social media meme, but that’s not going to happen.