Ben Askren to box YouTube celeb in March

[dman115 513]

Have people really forgotten that Askren has been in the octagon with world class MMA athletes over and over again?  He was a world champion!  He is a world class wrestler and athlete.  Yet people are still considering this yahoo from youtube?   Has this yahoo EVER faced anyone close to a world class striker in his life...outside of training??

And also...as McPhillips pointed out...Askren has always been "flabby" comparatively to his competitors...both in MMA and in wrestling.  But I sure as heck wouldn't want to mess with him in any sort of fashion or in any sort of discipline and I outweigh him by about 100lbs...and it is all pure musc....okay I can't even say it...

[MadMardigain 1,596]

58 minutes ago, dman115 said:

Have people really forgotten that Askren has been in the octagon with world class MMA athletes over and over again?  He was a world champion!  He is a world class wrestler and athlete.  Yet people are still considering this yahoo from youtube?   Has this yahoo EVER faced anyone close to a world class striker in his life...outside of training??

I’ve not forgotten, in fact I’ve caught pretty much all his fights.  He was the worse striker  by far for all of those fights with the exception of Mia where they were equally bad.  Heck on most fights he barely even used his punches in while in neutral and most of those where just jabs to keep his opponent at distance until he was ready for a takedown.   Ben won all those fight with very little striking skills, and literally the main striking he did was by throwing in boots and light striking on top until the ref called it due to lack of action on the bottom guy.   Heck in Bellator while he was the champ the president of the company was fine letting him go to ONE because Ben was such a boring lay and smoother style fighter that he didn’t see a point in paying Ben more when someone else could be a better entertainment draw.  The only reason Dana even decided to pick Ben up was because Askrens record and mouth could help sell fight then Dana would be happy having someone shut him down after that.   Bens comeback win over Lawler was shocking to everyone after getting teed off on, so hopefully he brings that chin to the boxing match.  Ben even admits he put little effort into his striking training due to knowing he was the superior grappler.

 

 Let’s hope he at least put some time into his boxing defense during that time though which will allow him to fight wear Paul down and eliminate his power flurries.  If this was anything grappling Ben embarrassed him.  Since it’s the discipline that Ben is the worst at and Paul’s been pretty focused on this one will likely come down to sticking to the right game plan.  And as I said before I have a strong dislike for the Paul and would like nothing more than to see him lose.  I’m just not sure Ben has the striking skills to clearly come out the winner.  
 

On a side note Mia won their fight by being a far superior submission grappler with Ben hanging in for awhile due to being a skilled wrestling grappler.  Mia was amazing in the fact he got in the UFC and even neutralizes some top guys while basically bring a one style fighter. Ben was like that too but couldn’t quite get to the same level in the UFC and the Mia fight was just a bad matchup for him due to Mia’s ultra high grappling submission level.  

Edited April 15, 2021 by MadMardigain

[lu1979 558]

I am an old guy and I admittedly do not understand the current obsession with following these "influencers" (what we used to call windbags in the old days).  However I was an Ok wrestler and have followed the fight game for many years.  Askren is right that beating up another you tube loadmouth and an ex basketball player in the ring does not make you a fighter.  I believe that Askren will beat this guy due to the fact that he has competed on a high level in real combat sports for a long time and Paul has never done so.  When I saw Logan Paul on that pod cast telling Ben how his brother Jake had trained for 3 years to become a real fighter it made me think of story line that grabbed a lot of attention many years ago in the boxing world.  A really amazing athlete by the name of Too Tall Jones decided he was going to change careers and go into boxing.  Jones was a great football player and stood around 6' 9" tall and weighed over 250 lbs and was a really gifted athlete.  He trained hard with great boxing coaches and there was a lot of speculation that he was going to transition into the boxing world and soon be a contender due to his awesome physical gifts.  I will never forget watching his 1st fight.  The guy the started him off with was a journeyman fighter with a middling record and he he looked miniscule standing next to Too Tall Jones.  It wasn't much of a fight and Jones was embarrassed into a quick retirement.  Now I would not expect Askren to beat any journeyman boxer close to his weight in a boxing match.  I don't think Ben would expect to do that either.  But I expect he will beat Jake Paul.

 

Edit my comments - I guess memory is not as good as I thought.  That was Jones' 1st fight I was remembering but I guess he didn't lose it.  I remember the guy knocking him down and I vividly remember the huge size disparity.  Wikipedia says Jones won a controversial decision.  My memory says he got whooped by a middling fighter but I guess I may be mistaken.  

Edited April 16, 2021 by lu1979

[NJDan 1,070]

6 hours ago, backpack said:

No offense intended, but sounds like you're pretty out of the loop on this one.

There's a few reasons why people want to watch this, mainly the fact that Jake Paul is a very popular, and very disliked, internet celebrity. He's been talking trash for years to actual fighters trying to make a big payday, and landed on Askren, likely due to the fact that Askren is low hanging fruit from an MMA perspective. Many people want to see Askren shut him up and there's quite a bit of intrigue as to whether or not Jake Paul actually has the goods. 

Proud to be out of the loop if it means I do not follow the news of internet idiots.

[NJDan 1,070]

Not sure Ben has ever been THIS fat. OTOH many (heavyweight) boxers are fatter.

 

[Plasmodium 2,232]

I doubt Askren has more boxing skill than Paul. Paul has a couple of KOs to his credit, which is probably more than Askren has from standing.  I know Askren fought vastly better guys, but the point is he doesn't have KO ability.  His technique, stance and motion are awful. Funky will probably win this fleecing of the public with lungs. 

[uncle bernard 1,113]

27 minutes ago, Plasmodium said:

I doubt Askren has more boxing skill than Paul. Paul has a couple of KOs to his credit, which is probably more than Askren has from standing.  I know Askren fought vastly better guys, but the point is he doesn't have KO ability.  His technique, stance and motion are awful. Funky will probably win this fleecing of the public with lungs. 

Not sure how you got to that point and didn't stop writing. Jake Paul knocked out a much smaller retired basketball player. Let's not go crazy here. 

[iGranby 221]

11 hours ago, uncle bernard said:

Not sure how you got to that point and didn't stop writing. Jake Paul knocked out a much smaller retired basketball player. Let's not go crazy here. 

His other astounding KO victory was over a fellow Youtuber (pretty sure). 

 

I dont know if Askren will win, but regardless Jake Paul is a clown. After knocking out the basketball player he claimed he's taking boxing seriously, and wants to be the greatest of all time...etc. Then takes a fight with Akren. Which, to be fair is a much more legitimate fight than his previous two - but youre still talking about competing against someone who has zero live/competitive experience in the specific sport they're doing. If Askren loses, it will be more of the same - Jake Paul will continue to take fights that are skewed in his favor, he will continue to be a clown. 

I'm honestly a lot more interested in the aftermath of it all if Askren wins. 

Edited April 16, 2021 by iGranby

[BobDole 1,193]

This is a publicity stunt, just like his match with Burroughs.

[Mphillips 1,668]

It's just a payday for Askren and he said as much. He also said if the money was right, he'd do it again.

[MizzouGrad 137]

19 minutes ago, Mphillips said:

It's just a payday for Askren and he said as much. He also said if the money was right, he'd do it again.

$1,000,000 is a nice chunk of cash for a fight against a youtuber. 

[NJDan 1,070]

4 minutes ago, MizzouGrad said:

$1,000,000 is a nice chunk of cash for a fight against a youtuber. 

Is that really the number? 

Also, does anyone know how he chose Askren for an opponent. I mean, it's not as if Askren is all that famous (or is he?)

[backpack 33]

16 hours ago, NJDan said:

Proud to be out of the loop if it means I do not follow the news of internet idiots.

It's certainly preferred.... Jake Paul is a complete jackwagon. 

[GranbyTroll 452]

19 minutes ago, NJDan said:

Is that really the number? 

Also, does anyone know how he chose Askren for an opponent. I mean, it's not as if Askren is all that famous (or is he?)

Off the top of my head, that's ballpark the real number. Paul chose Askren when Dillon Danis declined. All according to what Askren has said on various podcasts, as my memory serves. 

[jross 521]

15 hours ago, NJDan said:

Not sure Ben has ever been THIS fat. OTOH many (heavyweight) boxers are fatter.

 

Set to Zoot Suit Riot... doo be shoo bop ooh dee doo sha-bam

Who's that waddlin' down the street?
It's just me, 'cause I love to eat
Fudge and Twinkies and deviled ham
Who's real flabby? Yes, I am!
Every picture of me's
Gotta be an aerial view
Now my doctor tells me
There's just one thing left to do--

[jross 521]

38 minutes ago, NJDan said:

Is that really the number? 

Also, does anyone know how he chose Askren for an opponent. I mean, it's not as if Askren is all that famous (or is he?)

Funky had a blue bird tweet to the Pauls in response to a call over the open airwaves to fight an influencer...  Askren paid the entry fee with his 400K flock a followers.

[1032004 1,420]

39 minutes ago, GranbyTroll said:

Off the top of my head, that's ballpark the real number. Paul chose Askren when Dillon Danis declined. All according to what Askren has said on various podcasts, as my memory serves. 

Pretty much this, although I don't recall Askren putting a number on it, just saying that it was the most he's ever been paid for a single fight (and that he is not getting a % of PPV's).

[NJDan 1,070]

41 minutes ago, 1032004 said:

Pretty much this, although I don't recall Askren putting a number on it, just saying that it was the most he's ever been paid for a single fight (and that he is not getting a % of PPV's).

Yeah, I was on Youtube and saw a BIG ad about this fight and it being on PPV. Pretty shocking, at least to this middle-aged guy.

[Fletcher 1,095]

OK guys - I need your help. DraftKings says if I bet on Askren to get a KO, TKO or DQ, then $100 bet pays out at $475. Should I do it?

[Mphillips 1,668]

31 minutes ago, Fletcher said:

OK guys - I need your help. DraftKings says if I bet on Askren to get a KO, TKO or DQ, then $100 bet pays out at $475. Should I do it?

DQ is out of the question IMO. I don't know why Askren couldn't KO or TKO him? I like the bet.

[TobusRex 2,108]

On 12/23/2020 at 12:51 PM, TripNSweep said:

Looks like he's going to box Jake Paul who just beat former NBA player Nate Robinson. Even though Askren has terrible striking he's a lot tougher. I'd be very surprised if Askren lost. 

Cool. I knew if he searched long enough that Gentle Ben would find an opponent he could beat! 

[Fletcher 1,095]

6 minutes ago, Mphillips said:

DQ is out of the question IMO. I don't know why Askren couldn't KO or TKO him? I like the bet.

Somehow Askren's the underdog. I don't see how he loses - personal pride and base level cardio should be enough to get Askren the win. Just debating on whether to bet the straight-up win vs. the higher payout TKO.

[TobusRex 2,108]

3 hours ago, NJDan said:

Is that really the number? 

Also, does anyone know how he chose Askren for an opponent. I mean, it's not as if Askren is all that famous (or is he?)

Maybe he saw that one kick knockout where Askren was taught how to feign a coma. 

[NJDan 1,070]

48 minutes ago, Fletcher said:

OK guys - I need your help. DraftKings says if I bet on Askren to get a KO, TKO or DQ, then $100 bet pays out at $475. Should I do it?

How many rounds is the fight? If more that 6, i'd make that bet for sure.

[Mphillips 1,668]

11 minutes ago, TobusRex said:

Cool. I knew if he searched long enough that Gentle Ben would find an opponent he could beat! 

He gets paid the same win or lose. That's a win/win.