YouTuber Jake Paul is due to take to the ring for another boxing match later this year, and it will be against none other than former UFC star Ben Askren.
Paul has been looking to make a name for himself outside of the content space in recent months, with boxing his path of choice. Brother Logan has also been making waves in combat sports, with a fight scheduled to take place against undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather.
Jake most recently took on former NBA star Nate Robinson, which he won in emphatic fashion, and has since been trying to goad a $50,000,000 fight out of Conor McGregor.
Now, his next fight looks to be official, with Paul set to take on retired MMA fighter Ben Askren in a professional, eight round boxing match on April 17, 2021.
Jake Paul will fight Ben Askren in an eight-round pro boxing match on April 17, per Triller founder Ryan Kavanaugh. The fight will serve as the main event of the next Triller Fight Club card. Location TBD.
Done deal.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 26, 2021
As reported by ESPN, this will be organized by Triller Fight Club at an unannounced location. The full card is expected to feature familiar names from the world of boxing both present and past, as well as other social media celebrities and MMA fighters. These announcements are expected in the coming weeks.
“I started boxing two years ago and I’m still going to knock his ass out faster than [Jorge] Masvidal,” Paul said. “These MMA guys think because they throw punches they know how to box. After Ben Askren is added to my knockout meme collection, what can anybody say?”
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It’s official😈. April 17th. @triller Fight Club. pic.twitter.com/eYcaTOJhlt
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) January 26, 2021
Askren was also full of fighting words for Jake, who hasn’t had quite the fighting career he himself has enjoyed yet. “I know Jake Paul is enjoying pretending he is a fighter. I think on April 17 he is going to have a rude awakening to what being a fighter is really like.”
Askren added that Paul has had “a privileged life” and “doesn’t really know what the meaning of being a fighter is.”
Ben himself is a former Bellator and ONE welterweight champion, a two-time NCAA champion and had a 19-2-0 record in his MMA career.
All fighting fans — and Jake Paul fans — now set their sights to April 17 to see whether Paul is really a fighter that can hang with the professionals, or whether he’s all talk.