Those who were hoping Ben Askren would be able to banish Jake Paul from the realm of combat sports are sorrily disappointed this morning. The brash YouTuber, who was accused of sexual assault in the lead up to last night’s fight, got the W at Triller Fight Club by TKOing Askren inside the first round.
The win wasn’t a great shock to fight game pundits, who—though admirers of Askren’s wrestling pedigree and achievements in Bellator and ONE—knew that ‘Funky’ is not a high-level striker.
Paul, though a boxing neophyte, is younger and stronger than Askren and his short time studying boxing seems to have resulted in a pugilistic skill set that’s better than that of the recently retired Askren.