Jake Paul v Ben Askren tips: 3 best bets for the celebrity boxing scrap

Our boxing tipster Matt Gipon previews this weekend's YouTube personality v ex-MMA star scrap.

*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.

Whether you’re a social media follower, a fight-sports nut, or you’ve stumbled across this page from some obscure link, we all have one thing in common: we’d all stop to watch a spot of fisty-cuffs between two famous faces.

Nobody quite knows what will happen when young YouTuber Jake Paul takes on veteran grappler Ben Askren, but here are the best bets on the curious contest.

Jake Paul vs Ben Askren

WHEN IS THE FIGHT? Sunday April 18: 4am (Dublin time)
HOW TO WATCH: Fite.TV/ Triller app

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JAKE PAUL IN ROUNDS 1-2

You might see Paul with the bling and the bleached blonde hair, and think this guy is arrogant, and you’d probably be right, but if there is one bloke not taking this fight seriously it’s Askren. There is no doubt that the 2008 Olympic wrestler thinks he’s on a different level in the fight game to Jake, but boxing is not MMA.

Askren has never been known for his ‘hands’ and, although he’s notched up several KOs, punching someone from the mount position on the mat is not the same as taking someone out on your feet. The truth is, I suspect Paul has the better boxing skill set. Paul, 24, is the bigger man and he keeps himself in decent shape. The internet ‘personality’ also carries some power: he’s had two boxing matches and he’s won by first and second round KOs, albeit against fellow YouTubers.

In 2019, Askren was put to sleep in five seconds by Jorge Masvidal’s flying knee in probably the most stunning KO ever caught on camera, but other than that ‘Funky’ has never been stopped. In his MMA career, the Wisconsin wrestler resorted to clinching every time he was buzzed but in a boxing match he might not be able to get away with that.

I always have concerns about an ageing fighter who has been inactive and while Askren hasn’t been in a fight since October 2019, both of Paul’s boxing bouts were in 2020.

An old, overconfident Askren who can’t fall back to his usual get-out-of-jail-free move could get caught cold.

JAKE PAUL ON POINTS

At the top level of mixed martial arts Askren looks off-balance when striking at range and he pushes his punches instead of throwing his body behind them, but maybe I am doing Ben’s skills a bit of a disservice. The 36-year-old will have spent bags of time doing striking-only drills and sparring, and surely, if he’s learned anything, he’s learned how to survive.

If Askren wants to make this fight scrappy then I’m not sure Paul has the ability to do anything about it. I wouldn’t be surprised if this descends into an amateur hugging contest rather than a professional boxing bout.

Jake is listed as three inches taller than Askren in some places but I’d be surprised if there’s much more than an inch in it when they are in boxing boots, and weight-wise they won’t be a million pounds apart – unlike Paul’s previous two celebrity opponents who were definitely on the smaller side.

Paul might do enough to catch the eye of the judges but struggle to put away an experienced man close to his own size.

BEN ASKREN TO BE KNOCKED DOWN AND WIN

The form lines indicate that Paul has power and does his business early, but we have never seen the controversial internet influencer go past two rounds. I’ll give him credit that he’ll fight as hard as he can for as long as he can, but my guess is that he gasses if we get to the third or fourth round.

Old man Askren is a veteran of 21 professional MMA bouts and a shedload of wrestling matches, and he knows how to pace himself over the distance of a contest. Although Ben has been inactive and seemingly doing more social media promotion than training for this part-boxing card, part-music festival mash-up, don’t be fooled by Ben’s dad-bod exterior – he looked like that when he was at the peak of his powers.

It’ll be a tricky start to the fight for Askren but once he shakes the ring rust and his inner-fighter takes over he can beat an inexperienced opponent.

Jake Paul v Ben Askren betting tips

Jake Paul to Win Rounds 1-2
Jake Paul to Win on Points
Ben Askren to be Knocked Down and Win

MORE TIPS: 9/1 shot Liam Williams can pull off big shock v Demetrius Andrade on Saturday night

*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.

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