‘That sounds stupid’– Ben Askren reveals the BIZARRE contract he refused to sign ahead of his boxing bout with Jake Paul
Ben Askren (L), Jake Paul (R)
On the come-up, Jake Paul fought some fighters who would not possibly qualify as the best pugilists.
One of them was Ben Askren, who he fought in 2021, only to finish him within two minutes. Going into the fight, many pundits were tilting towards Askren, purely because he had real fight experience. It’d be hard to blame them, however, as Ben Askren has a somewhat stellar fight resume.
Before entering the UFC in 2019, he was 18-0 in MMA. However, the UFC is the elite tier of competition in MMA, and within seven months of his debut victory over Robbie Lawler, the former ONE Championship fighter was down to 19-2. His latest loss came at the hands of Demian Maia. However, the one most glaring in the eyes of fans is the one he suffered to Jorge Masvidal, who flew in to knock the American out in seven seconds.
Taking the fight against Jake Paul must have been a no-brainer. It would ensure a good payday regardless of the outcome, and if he were to trump the American, the resultant sheen would be a good bonus as well. However, Askren has now revealed that the promotion backing Paul then, Triller, asked him to sign a bizarre contract.
He said, “The one thing they did try to do, they tried to pull over on me, one day, his guy called me and he said, ‘Hey Ben, Triller’s worried you’re gonna do some MMA move, how about you sign a contract you’ll get fined $100,000 for every time you do an MMA move?’
Obviously, Ben Askren declined this frankly ludicrous offer.
Ben Askren was left puzzled by Jake Paul’s intent in him asking for this contract to be signed
Given the bizarre nature of the contract, Ben Askren could not help but speculate as to Jake Paul’s mind frame.
He said, “I don’t know if Jake was nervous that I was gonna elbow him. Or a kick? Who knows? So the notion that I would take money to not beat him up is preposterous.”
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Regardless, Jake Paul would end up piecing him up in the bout – most fans found the short lived bout a little unexciting despite the finish that Paul was able to achieve in the very first round. Since, he has fought Tyron Woodley twice, defeating him on both occasions. The second time, Paul KO’d him stiff with a fear inducing hook.
Despite the nature of his bouts, Paul did not have a striker with the same pedigree as Anderson Silva. If anything like the classic Silva shows up on Saturday, Jake Paul could be in for a long night.
Udayan Mukherjee
(382 Articles Published)