Ringside Seat: As Jake Paul fights Ben Askren, how is his boxing future?

Jake Paul’s fledgling boxing career began fighting one of his own.

Last January, Paul made his professional debut against Ali Al Fakri, better known as AnEsonGib, a fellow YouTuber who was more than happy to take part in the show. Paul needed 258 seconds to win by stoppage.

Paul went from fighting a YouTuber to a former professional athlete – former NBA star Nate Robinson – and has now become a real wrestler.

This Saturday, Paul will face former MMA wrestler Ben Askren in Atlanta at a pay-per-view Triller event. Last week, a woman accused Paul of sexually assaulting her in 2019. Paul on Tuesday issued a statement denying the claim.

Paul has quietly raised the level of his opposition to the ring, leading to a natural question: will Jake Paul ever get to the point of facing another professional boxer?

So far, Paul’s events have been spectacles. When the 24-year-old was in the ring last November, he dropped Robinson and turned him into a meme on the inside card of an exhibition fight between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr.

Askren, who will make his professional debut with boxing, has a good knowledge of combat, albeit with an important warning. Askren, a former Bellator champion and welterweight, is known as a grappler and has no background in showing off boxer ribs to try Paul, who has proven to be a lucrative attraction. Paul will headline the first wrestling event at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home to the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and the SEC Championship Game.

It’s the kind of feat that fits Paul’s stated ambitions for the sport.

“I truly believe that I will become the world’s greatest award and the world’s highest paid award,” Paul said in an ESPN play published in January.

Both things don’t necessarily have to include better competition, and Paul has said a lot.

“I don’t want to fight anymore unless it’s massive,” Paul told ESPN’s Marc Raimondi in January. “I want every time Jake Paul fights to have electricity in the air that everyone can hear and people have to tune in. I’m going to challenge myself, find the right opponent and stay active.”

When he has struggled, he has trained seriously for each of his struggles, with two workouts a day and a rigorous diet. And as long as Paul’s events continue to sell, he will be able to avoid a formidable challenge. But if the Ohio native continues to dominate the clearly inferior opposition, it may be harder for casual fans looking for some entertainment.

This could force him to raise his position and create doubts about the outcome of his fights. If Paul continues to box and continues to win, the sport is likely to continue to join YouTuber in hopes of attracting younger, younger fans. Paul is able to fight the people he wants to see, something boxing often fails to achieve.

In case Paul eliminates Askren and if the PPV sells well, don’t be surprised if Paul returns to the ring for another payday, as another celebrity, athlete or former wrestler will stand by. But if the current trend continues, Paul could find himself a legitimate boxer, if he wants to keep collecting big checks.

This may be the only thing that will keep the turnstiles moving Jake Paul Circus Experience.

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Predictions

Jorge Masvidal, UFC welterweight: [Askren] he can’t punch, the boy can’t spell “punches.” He doesn’t have the strength to hurt someone with his muscles. … Per [Paul’s] size, has good eye-hand coordination. Now I can tell [Paul is] legitimate? When you hit the bag it looks soft. Hitting the pads looks soft and, in combat, has done some things that look good. But boxing is about fighting, so to what extent is it legal? Are you talking about him fighting Zab Judah? No, he will not beat Zab Judah. But is he going to beat Ben Askren? Read as f —.

Ben has experience. Well he might get tired, maybe in the fourth or fifth round, Jake has never been in those areas. Things can happen. As long as [Paul] he sticks to what he knows and does what he’s supposed to do, I think he’s a much better athlete and I think he naturally hits a lot harder than Ben. I think Jake makes it pretty easy.

Dana White, president of the UFC (on Mike Tyson’s Hot Boxin ‘podcast): Jake Paul is not a boxer. I hope you can bet on this thing, because I bet a million dollars to lose this fight. [Askren] he’s a decorated fighter, but he’s actually fought real guys. He has been a world champion in other MMA organizations.

Timothy Bradley Jr., ESPN boxing analyst and former world champion: This guy from Jake Paul trains really hard, I won’t lie. He doesn’t play there, but he has very limited experience. I’ll have to go with Paul. He’ll put it on, man. Once he goes to the body, this MMA guy falls. He will be shot in the body.

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Betting odds

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Regis Prograis returns to the court against Ivan Redkach

While all eyes will be on the high-profile clash between Paul and Askren, the main fight on the bottom plate is a junior welterweight clash between former world title Regis Prograis (25-1, 21 KOs) and Ivan Redkach (23-5-1), 18 KOs), who has gone far in entertaining fights against former world titles Tevin Farmer and Danny Garcia. Prograis won his first career loss in October 2019, when he lost a narrow majority decision to Josh Taylor in a fight for world title unification.

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Complete card

• Jake Paul (2-0, 2 KOs) vs. Ben Askren (professional debut), 8 rounds, cruising weights

• Regis Prograis (25-1, 21 KOs) vs. Ivan Redkach (23-5-1, 18 KOs), 10 rounds, junior welterweight

• Steve Cunningham (29-9-1, 13 KOs) vs. Frank Mir (professional debut), 8 rounds, heavyweights

• Joe Fournier (8-0, 8 KOs) against Andrés Felipe Robledo London (professional debut), 6 rounds, light heavyweights

• Lorenzo Simpson (9-0, 5 KOs) against Francisco Emanuel Torres (16-3, 5 KOs), 8 rounds, middleweights

• Junior Younan (15-0-1, 10 KOs) vs. Jeyson Minda (14-4-1, 8 KOs), 8 rounds, super middleweight

• Quinton Randall (7-0, 2 KOs) vs. William Jackson (13-2-2, 5 KOs), 8 rounds, welterweight

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Liam Williams seeks to complete his return

Liam Williams was on the brink of top boxing in April 2017, when he fought Liam Smith for the WBO interim middleweight title in Manchester, England. But Williams, previously undefeated, suffered consecutive losses against Smith, and thoughts of a world title fight were darkened.

But that moment in his career woke him up. And four years later, Williams will fight Demetrius Andrade on Saturday in Hollywood, Florida, in his first straight world title fight with the WBO middleweight world title.

“After the loss against Liam Smith, I realized I had to make changes and I’ve also matured a lot since then,” Williams told ESPN. “I moved away from home to train and since then everything has fallen into place. In 2018 I made the switch to train with Dominic Ingle in Sheffield [England]. It was about making the change or packing in boxing.

“Three weeks before Smith’s second fight, I was out and drunk. There were other things involved, but I just thought this was a joke, I’m a wildcard and I need to straighten up. I really turned it around.

“Apart from leading a better life and being in the gym with talented and hardworking people like [featherweight contender] Kid Galahad, a lot [knockout run of form] i came from myself, being a little more mature. It’s a case of maturing and growing. “- Nick Parkinson

More information about Andrade-Williams

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Andrade-Williams by the numbers

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18: The professional qualifiers of Demetrius Andrade and Liam Williams, who will compete for their world title on Saturday. Andrade did it in 29 professional fights (all wins), while Williams did it in 26 (two losses, one draw)

443: Total days between defenses of the title by Andrade. He last fought on January 30, 2020, when he defeated Luke Keeler by knocking out the ninth round. Saturday’s fight against Williams will be Andrade’s fourth world title defense, after winning the vacant WBO title in October 2018. The rest of the middleweight world titles are Gennadiy Golovkin (IBF), Ryota Murata (WBA) and Jermall Charlo (WBC).

8-0: Andrade’s career record in world title fights. He has 4 KOs in those eight fights. In addition to his current middleweight career, Andrade previously held the WBO junior middleweight title and the WBA junior middleweight “regular” title.

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Betting odds

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Complete card

• Fight for the title: Demetrius Andrade (29-0, 18 KOs) vs. Liam Williams (23-2-1, 18 KOs), 12 rounds, for Andrade’s WBO middleweight title

• Carlos Gongora (19-0, 14 KOs) against Christopher Pearson (17-2, 12 KOs), 12 rounds, super middleweight

• Mahammadrasul Majidov (3-0, 3 KOs) vs. Andrey Fedosov (31-3, 25 KOs), 12 rounds, heavyweight

• Movladdin Biyarslanov (7-0, 6 KOs) vs. Israel Mercado (9-0, 7 KOs), 8 rounds, junior welterweight

• Otha Jones III (5-0-1, 2 KOs) against Jorge David Castaneda (13-1, 11 KOs), 8 rounds, lightweight

• Alexis Espino (7-0, 5 KOs) vs. Ty McLeod (6-0, 6 KOs), 6 rounds, middleweight

• Aaron Aponte (2-0, 1 KO) vs. Javier Martinez (4-7, 3 KOs), 4 rounds, junior welterweight