Jake Paul, a popular YouTube personality, will make his second professional boxing appearance this Saturday when he takes on former NBA guard Nate Robinson on the undercard of the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. exhibition fight in Los Angeles.
Ahead of his fight with Robinson, Paul recently called out a trio of past and present UFC fighters, including Askren.
“I want to take UFC fighters like Ben Askren, like (Jorge) Masvidal, whoever it is and bring them over to boxing,” Paul told The Mayweather Channel. “I want to fight Conor McGregor eventually. Whoever wants to get in the boxing ring with me, I want to be able to do it and beat them.”
Askren retired from MMA competition citing problems with his hip which was originally thought to need a full replacement. The former Bellator and ONE champion took a bit of a different route with the procedure in September and plans to compete on the wrestling mats sometime in 2021.
When he found out Paul spoke his name for a potential boxing match, Askren laughed at the notion, yet still finds it intriguing.
“Jake Paul wants to box me,” Askren told MMA Fighting while appearing on What the Heck. “I don’t know, I’m not a boxer but I could beat up a bum YouTube celebrity.”
The 2008 Olympian was known for his outstanding wrestling pedigree which led to a very successful mixed martial arts career. At 36 years of age, and feeling “pain free” for the first time in years after successful surgery, Askren is open to new lucrative challenges and experiences—which could potentially include a fight in the squared circle with Paul.
“It would be something to do because you could say I did it,” Askren said. “I don’t gotta go box f*ckin Roy Jones and get my ass whooped or nothing. But I could box some YouTube bum and get paid for it? What a tremendous livelihood.”
Before Jake called for a boxing match, his brother Logan put out an open challenge on the wrestling mat, to which Askren accepted.
“Logan Paul came at me last year—I think that’s his brother or some sh*t,’ Askren said. “I don’t know what their deal is, but I think he wanted to wrestle somebody and I said, ‘We don’t have to do a full match, but I’ll pin you in under a minute. No problem, bubba.’ He obviously did not accept the challenge because he pretty much knows how that would go down.”
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