Jake Paul

Boxing: Who will be next for Jake Paul?

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Last weekend we saw the boxing match that the world has been talking about for months. Internet celebrity, Jake Paul (3-0), took on former MMA world champion, Ben Askren. This was the first legit combat sports athlete to face Paul inside the squared circle.

That said, Askren might be the worst striker in MMA history when it comes to former world champions. Askren was an Olympic level wrestler but he was never known for good striking. However, Askren was willing to step in there with Jake Paul to see exactly what he was made of.

1.5 million PPV buys and a first round knockout later showed Ben Askren that Jake Paul is insanely popular and he has quite the right hand. With a first round knockout win over Ben Askren, Jake Paul has his first legit boxing victory. However, a win over Askren is still nothing to write home about.

After the boxing match, former UFC world champion Tyron Woodley called out Paul. However, there seems to be no interest from the Paul camp in boxing the former champion. With that being said, what is the strategy for Jake Paul’s boxing career? Who will Jake Paul be fighting next?

Jake Paul’s next boxing opponent

Let’s be very clear about the fact that Jake Paul is smart. He might act like an idiot, but he’s very smart and he has some business savvy people around him. Jake Paul has dedicated his life to boxing, but he’s not good enough to jump in with legit strikers.

After three years of training, Paul can do some serious damage to guys who don’t know how to strike in the boxing ring. However, seasoned strikers would pick apart even his smallest mistakes. Jake Paul is not going to take a risky fight next and that’s important to keep in mind.

For his next venture into boxing, I expect Jake Paul to take on Dillon Danis (2-0 MMA). Danis and Paul have had a ton of verbal back and forths over the last year. Danis is a world champion in Jiu Jitsu, but he’s not known for his boxing. I think most would favor Jake Paul in that matchup.

With that said, I think Danis is the clear favorite. It’s a favorable matchup for Jake Paul and he would be boxing a legit fighter. Unlike Askren, Danis is an active mixed martial artist competing in Bellator. If Paul were to win that matchup expect his chirping to become even louder.

Boxing: Would Jake Paul accept a matchup with Tyron Woodley?

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UFC, Tyrone Woodley

Last night, the world got to witness the boxing match between Jake Paul (3-0) and former MMA world champion Ben Askren (19-2, 1 NC). Heading into the matchup it was tough to predict what was truly going to happen.

On one hand, you’d think Jake Paul would be a massive favorite. While that might not make much sense, it does when considering the opponent. Yes, it is true that Ben Askren is a former world champion in two different MMA organizations.

However, he’s also one of the worst strikers of all time when considering MMA world champions. Askren is known for his funky style of wrestling and certainly not known for his boxing.

Ben Askren was also coming off of hip replacement surgery. However, he still took the boxing match and I gave him a chance. If you’re a fan of Ben Askren or just a fan of legitimate combat sports, last night couldn’t have gone worse.

In their boxing match, Jake Paul knocked out Ben Askren in the first round. After the fight was over, Paul continued to call out MMA fighters including Askren’s teammate and former UFC champion Tyron Woodley (19-7-1).

Would a boxing match happen?

Before last night’s boxing match, there was a run in backstage between Woodley and Paul’s team. Let’s get wrong thing out of the way and be very clear about this; Tyron Woodley is not Ben Askren.

Even with Woodley having lost his last four fights inside the octagon, he is a completely different animal. I guarantee that Tyron Woodley packs a bigger punch than Jake Paul does and for that reason, I can’t see Paul accepting a boxing match with Woodley.

In reality, Jake Paul is likely going to look for another matchup against a pure grappler. Dylan Danis is likely going to be the choice or someone like that. Not someone who poses a seriously threat on the feet.

I’ll give Jake Paul credit for taking boxing seriously in terms of his preparation. However, last night does nothing in terms of earning respect in the combat sports world. He beat arguably the worst MMA striker of all time who was retired and coming off hip surgery.

Yes, you still have to go out and perform which is what Jake Paul did. However, if he wants true boxing respect, he needs to box someone that actually poses a threat. Tyron Woodley would be that opponent, but I can’t see Jake Paul taking the fight.

More to lose in tonight’s boxing match: Jake Paul or the sport of MMA?

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Tonight, we will finally see the boxing match that the world has been talking about. Former MMA world champion, Ben Askren (19-2, 1 NC MMA) takes on YouTube celebrity turned boxer Jake Paul (2-0 Boxing).

This is a freak show type of matchup in the boxing world, but this is what the sport has become as of late. Jake Paul started his career over the last few years and he has made claims that he could defeat any MMA fighter in the sport of boxing.

The first one to step up to test that theory is Ben Askren. Askren is a former welterweight champion in ONE as well as Bellator. “Funky” retired back in 2019 and he had hip surgery following his retirement.

However, when the opportunity came up to have a boxing match with Jake Paul, Askren jumped at the opportunity. Paul has been talking a big game despite his only competition being another YouTuber and a former NBA player.

Neither one of those two gentlemen looked like they had ever thrown a punch in their life. Now, Paul is taking on a former MMA world champion in the sport of boxing. Even with it being Ben Askren, this is a big step up. So who has more to lose tonight: Jake Paul or the MMA community?

Boxing vs MMA

If you had never seen Ben Askren fight, you would say that the MMA community has the most to lose tonight. Even with it being boxing instead of MMA, if Ben Askren loses to a YouTuber in an arena of combat, it would look awful for professional mixed martial artists.

That said, the clear answer tonight is Jake Paul. Jake Paul by far has more to lose in tonight’s boxing matchup than the MMA community. Paul has been talking a lot of trash, but he’s fighting one of the worst strikers that’s ever been considered a top level MMA fighter.

Askren is a tremendous wrestler, but he’s never been known for his striking. Jake Paul has said that he could defeat any MMA fighter in boxing. However, if he loses to Ben Askren, it’s devastating for his brand and it’s embarrassing.

As someone who has spent my life involved with martial arts, there’s no secret as to who I’m rooting for in tonight’s boxing matchup. I hope with everything in me that Ben Askren completely destroys Jake Paul and ends this charade.

On the other hand, maybe it’s a good thing if Jake Paul wins. If Jake Paul wins, it’s only up from here. That’s a massive problem because if he gets put up against a legit striker, he’s going to get hurt badly. Maybe that is ultimately the best outcome for the martial arts community.

Boxing Preview: Ben Askren – Jake Paul

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Tomorrow night we will get to see the boxing match that everyone has been talking about for months. YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul (2-0 Boxing) will be welcoming former MMA world champion Ben Askren (19-2, 1 NC MMA) to boxing.

If you were to tell me a few years ago that Jake Paul would have a professional boxing match scheduled against Ben Askren, I would have rolled my eyes. However, in this day in age it’s important to never be surprised by anything.

Jake Paul followed in his brother’s footsteps into the world of boxing. However, it’s apparent that Jake has taken the transition more seriously than even Logan Paul has. Jake Paul insists that he is a boxer before anything else at this stage in his life.

So far, he’s had two professional boxing matchups. One against another YouTuber and another against former NBA player Nate Robinson. Paul won both of those matchups by knockout.

After those wins, he started challenging MMA fighters to step into the boxing ring with him. While there were many volunteers, “Funky” Ben Askren is the one who signed on the dotted line to face Paul.

Ben Askren has had an incredible MMA career. He won the welterweight title in One and in Bellator before closing his career with the UFC. Askren is known for his wrestling, but he believes that he can win this boxing match against the YouTube celebrity.

Boxing Prediction

As I’m sitting here thinking about my prediction for this boxing match, I’m still shocked it’s happening. Nevertheless, let’s get into the match tomorrow night and who is ultimately going to get their hand raised.

I think Ben Askren is being way overlooked in this matchup. Granted, his boxing has never been good. His striking has never been good and throughout his career, he always relied on his wrestling.

However, unlike Jake Paul’s previous boxing opponents, Ben Askren can take a shot. Ben Askren is not going to be afraid of walking right through the shots that Jake Paul is going to be throwing tomorrow night.

Jake Paul is a lot younger, he’s fast, and has way better boxing technique. However, we’ve never seen someone walk him down and pressure him. I’m personally expecting to see a very tired Jake Paul tomorrow night.

Jake Paul is not going to knock out Ben Askren in a boxing ring. I just don’t see that happening at all. Jake Paul is going to do well early, but as the boxing match goes on, I’m expecting to see him get very tired.

I think the later rounds are all going to be Ben Askren. Ultimately, I think this goes to a decision and it’s going to be close. However, this is the world of boxing and Triller can’t afford to have Askren win. No matter how the fight goes tomorrow, if it goes to the cards, I lean towards Jake Paul getting the nod.

Prediction: Jake Paul by Split Decision

Celebrity Boxing Roundup: Jose Canseco Loses To Barstool Intern

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This week featured a large amount of action in the celebrity boxing realm. Arguably the greatest boxer of all time dropped a hit list featuring several high profile names. The week also featured a bout between former MLB Star Jose Canseco and a Barstool Sports Intern that left Canseco on the mat in seconds. This led some to believe the 56-year-old Canseco took a dive in order to collect a check. So with all the action, here is your celebrity boxing roundup.

Mayweather Wants The Pauls & 50 Cent

Floyd Mayweather (50-0) was slated to face Youtuber and Podcaster Logan Paul (0-1) in a bout on February 20th. However, due to what both sides are claiming as “COVID and Business Issues,” the fight has been postponed. Mayweather originally planned to fight Paul before heading to Japan to continue his exhibition slate there. Now, according to his Instagram, he has two other fights he wants following the Paul bout before he heads to Japan.

Mayweather addressed the postponement of the bout with Paul before going on to call out to other celebrities. The first challenge was thrown out to Jake Paul (2-0). Jake, the younger Paul brother, has taken the boxing world by storm to this point with, most notably, his knockout of former NBA star Nate Robinson on the Tyson v Jones undercard. Jake is slated to fight former MMA Star Askren on April 17th in what will be Askren’s boxing debut. Following that, though, it looks like Mayweather wants to take both Pauls out as he stated, “and if Jake can get past his next opponent Ben Asken, I will have an exhibition with him as well.” Mayweather went on in another post to take shots at the younger Paul and the way he treats African Americans.

Aside from the Pauls, Mayweather also issued a challenge to popular rapper Curtis Jackson better known as 50 Cent, who has had disagreements with Mayweather in the past. With the two taking verbal jabs at one another about reading capabilities and size. 50 Cent has no known professional boxing experience, but he trains with boxing often and boxed when he was a kid.

Mayweather is evidently looking to capitalize on the lure of celebrity boxing in order to make significant money, as recent payperview trends have proven that it is a viable alternative to other less lucrative bouts he could take. All three of his intended bouts shouldn’t give Mayweather too much of a challenge if he ultimately decides to fight each.

Jose Canseco’s Money Grab

On this past Friday night, at Barstool Sports boxing event, Rough N Rowdy, the headline bout was former MLB star Jose Canseco against Barstool Intern William Cotter, better known as Billy Football. The intern is a former college football player who has spent a bulk of his time in college working for Pardon My Take, a Barstool podcast. In the bout, Billy ambushed Canseco knocking him out in the first ten seconds. This led to many speculating Canseco took a dive and threw the bout, given he said he has had a shoulder tear for 3-4 months. Canseco has been a part of speculation about throwing bouts for money in the past, and this has furthered that even more.

Jake Paul’s next boxing match will be against Ben Askren

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Well, Jake Paul (2-0) has his next boxing match set. Paul has been calling out MMA fighters and challenging them to box and it looks like he’s found a willing competitor. Per ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Paul will be boxing Ben Askren (19-2, 1 NC in MMA).

The boxing match will take place on April 17th. The match will actually go head-to-head with a UFC fight night that is being headlined by a middleweight clash between Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker. 

Jake Paul has been saying for the last couple of months that he wanted a boxing match with an MMA fighter. He’s been very vocal about his desire to take on the former UFC two-division champion, Conor McGregor.

However, discussions with the McGregor camp were never serious. McGregor just competed and lost to Dustin Poirier last Saturday at UFC 257. McGregor seems to be putting boxing on the backburner for now to focus on MMA.

However, Ben Askren is willing to jump in there to represent MMA. The former world champion mixed martial artist has been retired for the last year and a half after losing to Demian Maia back in October of 2019.

MMA vs Boxing?

There were plenty of MMA fighters that were vocal about their desire to step into the boxing ring with Jake Paul. Michael Bisping being one of those fighters, however, it’s Askren that will make the walk on April 17th.

I have to say, this is the easiest fight Paul could have taken against an MMA fighter. Ben Askren is not a good striker at all. Or at least he’s never shown the ability to be a good striker in a MMA fight.

Askren is known for his incredible wrestling and his strength. Those are not going to be tools he can use in a boxing match with Jake Paul. I would have to imagine that Paul would be the better favorite when the two meet up in April.

Again, Jake Paul has been calling out MMA fighters, but he hasn’t fought anyone yet. His two boxing wins are against another YouTube celebrity and a former NBA player. Askren is his toughest test yet, but it’s still not that great of a test. Should be an interesting match when the two meet up.

UFC: Conor McGregor issues response to Jake Paul

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Conor McGregor, UFC

Conor McGregor (22-4) is getting prepared for his return at UFC 257 against Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC). McGregor appears to be as focused as he’s ever been. He also looks like he’s in incredible shape ahead of his return this Saturday.

One thing that McGregor hasn’t addressed in the past couple of weeks is the callout from Jake Paul. It doesn’t seem that really any reporter has asked the question, but that changed when he was interviewed by BT Sport.

Towards the end of his interview, McGregor was asked about YouTubers calling him out. The former UFC champion made it clear that he really doesn’t take it seriously and he believes that Jake Paul is a little confused.

“He seems like a confused little kid to me. Now, he’s willing to get in there so I don’t know what’s going to happen. You never know,” McGregor said to BT Sport. While his tone seemed to indicate he doesn’t take it seriously, he at least left the door open for the potential fight.

UFC’s McGregor – Jake Paul

McGregor has made it clear that his focus is on another UFC run at lightweight. However, he does have interest in boxing. He’s openly talked about his desire to box Manny Pacquiao and he alluded to that in this interview.

It was announced yesterday that Paul would be headlining a boxing card on April 17th. However, we do not know the opponent of that bout just yet. Paul has made it clear that he wants to box an MMA fighter in his next bout.

I think it’s safe to say that he’s not going to be boxing the former UFC champion next. I’m very curious to see who Paul ends up boxing in April, and if he wants to be taken seriously, he needs to box someone from a combat sports background.

Jake Paul’s boxing challenge accepted by Ben Askren

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Jake Paul has certainly been busy after his second professional boxing match that took place a few of weeks ago. The YouTube celebrity knocked out former NBA player, Nate Robinson, in the second round a few of weeks ago.

Paul improved to 2-0 as a boxer and proceeded to start calling out professional MMA fighters for a boxing match. The two primary targets that he’s been focusing on are Conor McGregor and Dillon Danis.

Jake Paul even pulled a water balloon drive-by on Danis in an attempt to build the potential boxing match. Danis was filming an episode of Food Truck Diaries with Brendan Schaub at the time of the incident.

McGregor has yet to even acknowledge the insults and comments coming from Paul. Of course, McGregor is focused on his UFC return which takes place next month against Dustin Poirier on Fight Island.

However, this week, we’ve seen several MMA fighters throw their hats in the ring for the boxing match against Jake Paul. Former UFC champion, Michael Bisping, said this week that there had been talks for him to be the guy. 

Last night, Ben Askren announced on his Twitter that he was accepting the boxing challenge from Jake Paul. Askren said that he was in to make a lot of money and beat up a fake athlete. The proposed matchup would take place on March 28th.

Who will Jake Paul be boxing?

ESPN’s Ariel Helwani did report shortly after that the fight was far from done. Paul’s team is looking into a number of options for the celebrity to box in his next venture into the squared circle.

I will say, Askren would be one of the safer pics. Askren was a top level MMA fighter due to his incredible wrestling. Funky Ben was an Olympic level wrestler and he used that wrestling to go undefeated for the first ten years of his career.

However, Askren has never been known for his standup skills. Let alone his boxing skills. If Paul wants the easiest potential matchup, Askren might be it considering the pool of MMA fighters that he has to choose from.

Dillon Danis is another option. However, youth is on the side of Danis who has been training for the last few years. My guess is that we will know in the next couple of weeks who Jake Paul will be boxing in March.

Boxing: Canelo Alvarez isn’t a fan of the Paul brothers

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Canelo Alvarez

This past weekend, boxing great Canelo Alvarez (54-1-2) took to the ring to take on Callum Smith (27-1) for the WBC and WBO Super Middleweight championship. Canelo was attempting to capture the WBC Super Middleweight title to go with his WBO title.

As expected, Canelo completely dominated the much taller Callum Smith on his way to capturing the World Boxing Council Super Middleweight title. The new championship is just another in the long list of titles for Canelo Alvarez.

The world of boxing has been spinning lately with the rise of the Paul brothers. Jake and Logan Paul are YouTube celebrities that have seemingly taken over the world of boxing.

Logan Paul is going to be stepping into the ring in an exhibition against Floyd Mayweather in February. Meanwhile, Jake Paul just knocked out former NBA player, Nate Robinson, on the Mike Tyson – Roy Jones Jr PPV.

Jake Paul has now been spending his time calling out the UFC’s Conor McGregor for a boxing match in addition to others. Paul has made it clear that he wants to box some of MMA’s best to prove that they don’t have good hands.

However, none of this is sitting well with the boxing great, Canelo. Canelo is not a fan of the YouTubers and he’s not a fan of what they are doing to the sport of boxing. He was interviewed by TMZ Sports where he gave his thoughts.

“I truly believe it’s a lack of respect (for the sport). It’s all about money. I would invite him (Jake Paul) for a sparing session so he truly knows what it’s all about,” Canelo said to TMZ Sports.

Boxing’s best is not a fan

It’s clear that Canelo doesn’t want to see the Paul brothers in his sport unless they learn some respect in the ring. Let’s be very clear, if either of the Paul brothers were to spar Canelo, they might end up in a hospital.

Neither Jake nor Logan Paul are elite level boxers. They have decent skills, especially Jake, however, there are levels to this. Canelo Alvarez is not a fan of them essentially making a mockery of the sport of boxing.

I think what they are doing is great for making money. They are capitalizing on a market where they can net a lot of money for stepping into the ring. However, I can also see Canelo’s point about what they are doing to the sport.

The Paul brothers are not serious boxers no matter what they say. As Canelo pointed out, this is truly all about money. If either one of them stepped into the ring with a guy like Canelo, it wouldn’t be a fight. He wants to spar them to teach them some respect.

Jake Paul pulls a water balloon drive-by on Bellator’s Dillon Danis (Video)

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Jake Paul certainly knows how to troll and he continued today. After he knocked out Nate Robinson a couple of week’s ago, Paul called out Bellator’s Dillon Danis and the UFC’s Conor McGregor.

Paul has been very vocal about calling out MMA fighters to box him. Just this morning, Nate Diaz issued a strong warning to Paul for his words. He’s starting to bark up the wrong trees with some of his comments.

Nevertheless, Paul is great about getting people to talk about him and here we are. Today, Paul decided to take the attack to Bellator‘s Danis. However, he did it in a very unique way.

Paul posted a video on his Twitter account of him driving by where Danis was doing either a signing or interviews. The Bellator fighter was caught off guard and was pelted with water balloons and toilet paper which prompted him to chase Paul’s vehicle.

Bellator is interested

Last week, Bellator‘s head man, Scott Coker, said that the promotion would be interested in potentially having Danis fight Jake Paul. Love or hate the Paul brothers, they certainly know how to draw attention.

We just found out recently that the elder Paul brother, Logan, would be boxing Floyd Mayweather. Jake Paul continues to be steady in his callouts of MMA fighters. He’s very focused on getting a matchup with Dillon Danis.

I really believe that Bellator is seriously going to consider putting this together somehow. With their standing in the world of MMA, they are constantly looking to get more eyeballs on their product.

They’ve done a great job of building up their light heavyweight roster recently, but honestly, having Danis box Jake Paul would bring even more casual attention. Yes, it would be a sideshow, but so many would tune in.

I’m expecting to see even more stuff like this from Jake Paul as he continues to look for a fight with guys in MMA circles. I would just caution the YouTube star on who exactly he messes with. He might just bark up the wrong tree.