Paulie Malignaggi doesn’t believe Ben Askren even trained for his boxing match with Jake Paul.
Back in April, YouTube star, Paul took on former Bellator and ONE Championship titleholder, Askren. This was a pro boxing match promoted by Triller. Paul ended up scoring a first-round TKO victory over “Funky.”
Malignaggi is a former boxing world champion and a current analyst for Sky Sports. Helen Yee caught up with the “Magic Man,” who expressed his belief that Askren didn’t even bother to prepare for the bout with Paul.
“You can see Paul going from the non-fighters to the fighters that weren’t great at striking like Askren and now Woodley. I also think Woodley has a bit more pride than Askren. I mean, I think Askren had no self-worth and no self-pride. I mean, I don’t even think he trained for the fight. I mean, he looked that bad.
“He looked like he had a spare tire around him at the weigh-in. It was actually pitiful to look at. And he made a mockery of himself and a mockery of MMA fighters. And so I think Woodley’s kind of carrying the torch now for the world of MMA.”
Askren’s TKO loss to Paul served as his first pro boxing match. His teammate and longtime friend, Tyron Woodley, will be facing Paul in a boxing bout in August under Showtime Sports.
The fight world has seen a surge in social media influencers trying their hand in the world of boxing. The Paul brothers are the biggest names with Logan recently surviving an exhibition match with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather for eight rounds.
