Ben Askren celebrates after defeating Bakhtiyar Abbasov during OneFC Honor & Glory. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)
Former UFC and WWE star CM Punk believes that Ben Askren defeating Jake Paul shouldn’t be a surprise.
Askren is all set to make his professional boxing debut against YouTube sensation Jake Paul tomorrow at the Mercedes-Bank Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The fight will be for 8 rounds.
Paul, on the other hand, will be entering the third fight in his professional boxing career.
Having previously beaten fellow YouTuber AnesonGib and Ex-Basketballer Nate Robinson, both via early knockouts, this is the first time ‘The Problem Child’ will be facing a combat sports athlete.
Despite having no prior experience in boxing, not even the amount Paul has, Askren has taken up the sport quite seriously over the past few months.
However, there have been a lot of questions about his striking. Even when Funky Ben was a mixed martial artist, he was renowned only for his grappling and wrestling, and never for his striking.
This has given rise to doubts further doubts that the former UFC Fighter might end up losing the fight. But his friend and former WWE star CM Punk thinks otherwise.
Speaking to TMZ Sports, Punk talked about Askren being a champion in two different sports, while also adding that he has a very sound mindset which can prove to be decisive in fights like these.
‘The Best in the World’ had the following to say about Askren:
“I think so. It’s easy to sit on your couch and say that Ben isn’t a striker. But he is a decorated athlete at a very very high level, in two different sports. Mindset and mentality is a big thing when you’re fighting and Ben has that in spades.”
He then continued, saying that it shouldn’t be a surprise if Askren ends up being the winner:
“Is Ben gonna come out there and look like Muhammad Ali? No, probably not. But, Ben knows what it takes to win a fight, and the skillset in boxing is different and the rules are different. So, he’s going to approach it to the best of his abilities, so he can win that fight. I know a lot of people are counting him out, but I don’t think anybody should be surprised if he wins.”
The weigh-in for the Paul-Askren fight concluded yesterday. Paul weighed in at 191.5lbs whereas Askren weighed in at 191lbs. However, the combat sports community weren’t happy with the way Askren looked, as they tore into his appearance on Twitter for his ‘Dad Bod’.
“My money is on Jake Paul after seeing Ben Askren’s beer belly at the weigh-ins. Did he even spar?”, one fan on Twitter asked, while another claimed that it would be a cakewalk for Paul since Funky Ben is not even in shape.
One should note that, Ben Askren recently had a Birmingham Hip Resurfacing done. He has had a fair share of injuries throughout the course of his career as well.
But Askren will be looking forward to going by Mark Twain’s famous quote, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
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