Chael Sonnen reacts after winning the fight with a tap out by guillotine choke against Mauricio Rua in their light heavyweight bout at TD Garden on August 17, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
Chael Sonnen ridicules people who think Ben Askren would lose a boxing match to Jake Paul
Earlier this week, former UFC fighter Ben Askren accepted the invitation to fight Jake Paul in a boxing match in 2021.
Posting a video on his Twitter account, ‘Funky’ said that it’s an easy choice for him, and even set March 28 as a potential date for the fight.
“The choice is simple. I’m going to make a whole bunch of money, to beat up a guy who is pretending to be an athlete.”
Many fans on Twitter feared the worst for Askren when he accepted to fight Jake Paul. Even Dan ‘Hangman’ Hooker seemed to agree that Askren will not come out as the winner.
After being 19-0-1 in his first 20 professional fights, he lost his last two fights before retiring, which included a 5-second knockout to Jorge Masvidal.
Ben Askren, a wrestling ace, was never known for his boxing. That, combined with his losses to Masvidal and Demian Maia, might have clouded a lot of fans’ judgements about Funky’s ability inside a boxing ring.
However, Chael Sonnen fails to understand how people can even think about Jake Paul, a YouTuber, to beat a professional, accomplished MMA athlete. Speaking on his ‘Beyond the Fight‘ talk show, he said:
“You have in Askren an Olympian. You have in Askren a world champion in two different organizations, in two different weight classes.”
He underlines the fact that Askren is one of the most accomplished MMA fighters of this generation. Sonnen says that Askren, a former Bellator champion, is receiving far too much disrespect.
Sonnen sarcastically mentioned the rationale that Askren’s doubters are going by. While he did acknowledge that Paul is a “tough guy” who works hard, Sonnen downplayed his credentials as a fighter.
“You see the problem with the rationale… the greatest athletes in the world couldn’t win a round against Ben Askren, but he’s going to lose to Jake Paul… because Jake Paul beat up a slam dunk contest champion.”
Sonnen went on to mention that Askren will have enough time to polish up his boxing skills. Sonnen’s argument makes sense, but it is still advisable for Askren to respect this fight and not take anything for granted in his preparations.
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