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Ben Askren boxing a YouTube star? Sign him up.
After Jake Paul scored a devastating knockout of former NBA star Nate Robinson on the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. card this past Saturday, he proceeded to call out the likes of Conor McGregor, Dillon Danis and even Askren.
Askren, who likely wouldn’t have laced up the gloves to take on an established professional boxer, sees an easy payday in Paul. If he’s serious, Askren is happy to oblige.
“I don’t know if there’s a feud, more than this guy has just said my name a few times,” Askren told Submission Radio. “Most people are like, ‘Oh, I don’t know why Ben Askren would stoop to that level.’ It’s like, listen, when I was in high school, one of the fun things to do was, a bunch of dudes would come over to the house, we’d put on some boxing gloves, and we’d try to beat the (expletive) out of each other.
“Like, we did that for free. We just did that for fun. And now you’re telling me you’re gonna pay me a whole bunch of money to beat up a YouTube star? Like, I don’t know, that just sounds like a fun Friday night to me.”
Askren thinks Paul targeted him specifically not only because of his popularity, but the fact that he’s an accomplished fighter known more for his wrestling than his striking.
“Obviously I’m someone who is a high-level fighter, who has a large following, who was maybe not known for his standup,” Askren said. “I think that’s probably what he’s thinking. But I’ve worked out with some other guys, just kind of been around, and they’re not fighters, and they… every fat guy on the couch in America thinks he can fight, right? They really do. And then once they feel what it really feels like, it’s just different. There’s just this gap. Like, they don’t understand what it really feels like.”
Currently retired, Askren has alluded to a potential comeback but only under the right circumstances, which includes money. A boxing match with Paul would certainly result in a big payday, and Askren, who underwent hip replacement surgery last year, likes the idea of getting to compete through boxing.
“I’m not supposed to do live wrestling for a year post-surgery, which is September 1,” Askren said. “Boxing, that seems kind of easy. Like, I’m sure I could do that. Like, there’s no shots, there’s no slams, there’s not leg locks. I dunno, that seems relatively safe to me.”
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