Ben Askren tells fans to 'bet the house' on him beating Jake Paul in their boxing match
Ben Askren has a huge boxing match in March 2021
Ben Askren is confident he will beat Jake Paul when they box.
On Tuesday, Chael Sonnen tweeted out a fight poster that Askren would be boxing Paul in March of 2021. "Funky" then confirmed the news on his social media and claimed that he had accepted the bout.
“Yes, Mr. Jake Paul, I do accept. I know you called me out after that last fight against that bum Nate Robinson. And listen, it’s a pretty simple choice. I’m going to make a whole bunch of money to beat up a guy who is pretending to be an athlete. Because at the end of the day, that’s what you’re doing. I know you may think I don’t have too many standup skills. Also at the end of the day, I don’t really need to,” Askren said in the video.
“I’m a world-class athlete, I’ve won NCAA titles, I’ve been in the Olympics, I’ve won belts in multiple mixed martial arts organizations. And quite frankly, I am impressed that you’ve deluded yourself into thinking you’re a fighter. That you are really tough, that you can really box. It’s really quite impressive that beating up another YouTuber and beating up a boxer who has never been in the ring before makes you somehow good at boxing because it doesn’t. So yes, Jake, I accept. I will see you on March 28 in Los Angeles, and I will humble you like millions of people want to see happen,” concluded Askren.
Following the news the fight would be happening, sportsbooks opened odds that saw Paul as a -180 favorite with Askren being a +150. Funky saw the odds and was surprised he was the underdog.
"Bet the house," Askren tweeted.
Why are Ben Askren and Jake Paul fighting?
In the lead-up to Paul's boxing fight against Nate Robinson, he was calling out several MMA fighters like Askren, Jorge Masvidal, Dillon Danis, and Conor McGregor.
After Paul knocked out the former NBA player, his call-outs only increased and Askren was interested. Funky's hip is now healed and he appears ready to have his first-ever boxing fight.
Jake Paul is currently 2-0 as a pro boxer and has a lot of hype behind his name. However, Askren will be the first true fighter he takes on, and if he can beat the former ONE Championship and Bellator champion, it legitimizes his cocky actions.