Ben Askren reacts to his knockout loss against Jake Paul
Former multiple organization MMA champion Ben Askren has called his most recent boxing loss “embarrassing” after he was defeated by the YouTuber via knockout in round one.
During the virtual post-fight press conference, Askren was asked how he felt after the defeat.
“It is unfortunate I really though that I could do better, Yeah that was not fun,” Askren said.
When asked about the criticism he would receive following this loss Askren said it was “Probably deserved.”
I got knocked out by Jake Paul, its fucking embarrassing,” Askren said.
As for what is next for the former Olympian, Askren said that he has no plans to return to any kind of cage or ring again and will simply continue to coach at his wrestling academies.
Initially, Ben Askren retired from combat sports in 2018 before deciding to return as part of a historic trade between the UFC and One Championship that would allow him to test himself against the best UFC Welterweight fighters.
Following his entry into the organization Askren had mixed results and chose to go back into retirement in 2019.
Predominantly a wrestler in his MMA career, Askren chose to take this boxing fight against Paul and set himself to learning the sport over the 11-week training camp before the fight.
With this latest victory, Paul takes his professional boxing record to 3-0, but also adds some more legitimacy to his combat sports career as Askren is the first “professional fighter” the YouTube star has come up against.
Following his first two professional victories, Paul called out a range of different MMA fighters including Conor McGregor, Dilon Dannis, Nate Diaz, and Ben Askren.
While the YouTube star is yet to comment on who he would like next it is expected he will keep with this trend of seeking that elusive McGregor fight.
