"Turning it down would have been both cowardly and limiting my opportunity" - Ben Askren defends decision to fight Jake Paul

Jake Paul (left) and Ben Askren (right) [Image Courtesy:@jakepaul on Instagram]

Ben Askren does not seem to have any lingering regrets from his Jake Paul loss.

Ben Askren's boxing debut did not pan out relative to his ideal expectations. Paul halted him in the first frame of their fight and improved to 3-0 in the process. The pair fought under the Triller Fight Club banner last April. 'Funky' went 0-1 as a professional boxer and 'The Problem Child' secured his first win over someone with combat sports experience.

When asked recently by Twitter user @Sgt_Savage37 if it was a good or bad decision to fight Jake Paul, Askren said:

"It was the right decision. Turning it down would have been both cowardly and limiting my opportunity - two things I don’t aspire to. If I win, everyone thinks differently. Sometimes you have to be brave enough to make decisions without an assured outcome."

See the tweet below:

It was the right decision. Turning it down would have been both cowardly and limiting my opportunity, two things I don’t aspire to. If I win everyone thinks diffferently. Sometimes you have to be brave enough to make decisions without an assured outcome. twitter.com/sgt_savage37/s…

Paul is now 5-0 with four knockouts and went on to have a pair of fights with former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. Paul won both bouts, with the first fight being his only time going the distance. He generated a brutal knockout in the second fight.

The combat sports disruptor is now readying for his sixth professional contest on August 6th. The YouTuber/Disney star will test skills with Hasim Rahman Jr. at Madison Square Garden in a Showtime pay-per-view main-event.

Ben Askren's resume before Triller

Askren has historically shown himself to be someone who is humble in both victory and defeat. This was evidenced by his demeanor across his first twenty mixed martial arts contests, where he never tasted defeat. He only faced the music with the final three losses of his combat sports career (Jorge Masvidal, Demian Maia, and Paul, respectively).

Askren recently celebrated his 38th birthday and seems to be enjoying his retirement from combative competition.

Happy Birthday to the former @BellatorMMA and @ONEChampionship champion @Benaskren 🥳🎂

#MMA #UFC #ONEChampionship https://t.co/PqT0ce5aKk

Ben Askren is a former ONE Championship welterweight titleholder and was also the Bellator MMA 170 pound king during his career.

He successfully defended his Bellator hardware against Andrey Koreshkov, Karl Amoussou, Douglas Lima, and Jay Hieron. Askren was able to notch the defenses of his ONE crown over Shinya Aoki, Zebaztian Kadestam, and Agilan Thani. He initially retired after the Aoki win before a historic trade transpired between himself and Demetrious Johnson where Askren was traded to the UFC.

'Funky' also collected a meaningful win over former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler in his Octagon debut in March 2019.