Boxing has seen some fights turn into spectacles over the years, but the sport has never seen an event quite like this one. YouTube star Jake Paul will enter the ring against former MMA champion Ben Askren in the headline fight of a Triller Fight Club event that will also showcase Frank Mir, Antonio Tarver, and others. In a cross-promotion with the Triller app, there will be tons of musicians and bands giving performances too as part of the spectacle. Justin Bieber, The Black Keys, Diplo, Major Lazer, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Diplo, E-40, and a few more artists will perform over the course of this four-hour PPV event.
Paul and Askren are the headliners for this PPV card that will be available via iNDemand for $49.99. The action will get underway at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 17, 2021.
When: Saturday, April 17, 2021
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Why: Exhibition Fight
Jake Paul vs Ben Askren Betting Odds
Jake Paul -126
Ben Askren +107
Jake Paul is a slight favorite over retired MMA champion Ben Askren in this exhibition fight. For those unfamiliar with boxing betting odds, a $126 bet on Paul would return a $100 profit at these odds. A $100 wager on Askren would net $107 if he were to get the victory.
As the fight nears, there will be decision betting too. You will be able to bet on whether the fight is decided by KO, TKO, or decision, and you can bet on which boxer will win the fight in that fashion as well.
Jake Paul vs Ben Askren Preview
After the success of last November’s exhibition between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr., it was inevitable that Paul would receive a headline fight. Paul took on Nate Robinson as the main undercard in that event, and it ended up as one of the most watched PPV events of all time. There were more than 1.6 million buys, making it the biggest PPV event of the year.
This will be Jake Paul’s fourth fight and third time entering the ring as a professional. His first fight came in February 2018 when he took on Deji as the primary undercard of a bout involving his brother Logan Paul and Deji’s brother KSI. Jake Paul won by TKO in the fifth round and made the decision to turn pro less than two years later.
His first professional fight was against fellow YouTube personality AnEsonGib. This bout was on the undercard of an event featuring Demetrius Andrade and Luke Keeler, but Paul stole the show. He secured a first-round TKO over his collegue.
Paul’s most recent fight was in November as part of the Tyson-Jones event. He had a size and reach advantage over Robinson, and he made the most of it with a second-round KO that went viral. Paul caught the former NBA player with a punch that immediately sent him face down on the canvas.
Ben Askren was a two-time runner-up and two-time national champion at 174 pounds as a collegiate wrestler. He made it to the 2008 Summer Olympics, and then decided to turn pro in MMA shortly after coming back from Beijing.
Askren was unbeaten in his first 20 MMA fights. He claimed the Bellator welterweight title in October 2010 with a unanimous decision win over Lyman Good, and he successfully defended that belt four times before he left the promotion for ONE. We saw him immediately defeat Nobutatsu Suzuki to win the ONE welterweight belt, and he held the belt for over three years until he left ONE to join the UFC.
His UFC debut went well with a submission of Robbie Lawler at UFC 235. However, he suffered a stunning KO at the hands of Jorge Masvidal in his second bout, getting hit with a flying knee and losing within five seconds. Askren was submitted by Demian Maia three months later, and he retired following the loss.
This will be Askren’s first fight as a boxer. He was known for his wrestling and grappling skills in MMA, so he doesn’t have the advantage you might think over Paul as a former MMA champion.
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