Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren – Staff Predictions
In the strangest fight of 2021 (so far). YouTube star, Jake Paul, takes on former MMA champion, Ben Askren, on a Triller boxing pay-per-view. Who’ll win? Let’s see who the LowKickMMA are picking.
Jordan Ellis: I’m backing Ben Askren in this one. I understand his striking is poor. I just believe he’s better than Jake Paul who has only beat non-boxers during his pro run. Askren will be able to eat his shots, push the pace and ultimately finish Paul tonight.
Prediction: Ben Askren
Alex Lough: Jake Paul hasn’t fought anybody. I don’t care how he’s looked in his fights, he’s beaten YouTubers and a retired basketball player. His past performances mean nothing. What little I do know about Paul is that he was a college wrestler who started boxing in the past few years. That’s a similar path that Askren has taken, but he started his over a decade ago. While he may not have been known for his striking during his MMA career, he’s still been training with – and fighting against – an infinitely higher level of competition than Paul has, and has done it for a much longer time. Please God, let this be the end of this. Askren by whatever he wants.
Prediction: Ben Askren
Frank Bonada: No idea how Jake Paul vs Ben Askren will play out. Jake kind of looks like he has some hands, but it’s hard to tell with the level of opposition he’s faced. Alternatively, Askren has faced high-level opposition, such as Robbie Lawler, and looked awful on the feet. Jake looks like he hits harder, Askren is likely more durable. Not a clue how it’s gonna go. Ben Askren to win because I like him more than Jake..
Prediction: Ben Askren
Curtis Calhoun: Ben Askren will TKO Jake Paul in Round 6. The pressure that Askren puts on his opponents, dating back to his time in Bellator and ONE Championship, can be best described as annoying and hard to deal with. This is something that Paul probably hasn’t dealt with during routine sparring sessions, nonetheless his last two boxing fights against a retired basketball player and a fellow YouTuber. But let’s be real, despite what we say about Paul, he does have some boxing skills (I use the word “some” very lightly). The difference is, he hasn’t competed against real fighters and faced real adversity in the ring. While Askren’s mantra has always been to survive on the feet, and then to go for takedowns and submissions, he’s not a complete novice when it comes to throwing punches and avoiding damage in the striking game. Look at his fights against Douglas Lima and and Andrey Koreshkov, or his wild fight against Robbie Lawler in the UFC. He can give it and take it on the feet. Even in his loss to Demian Maia he was able to throw some great hooks and show good head movement. The fact of the matter is, Askren is the more experienced fighter (not boxer), and this will show on Saturday night.
Prediction: Ben Askren
Ryan MacCarthy: I gotta go Ben Askren. I just can’t convince myself to pick Jake Paul even though he is a very skilled boxer with natural abilities. I think Ben wears him down, lets Jake swing wildly the first couple rounds and wears him down thru the end. Askren by UD.
Prediction: Ben Askren
Harry O’Connor: Jake Paul isn’t as good as people are making out and that’s a fact! He has good hands but let’s remember that both of his professional fights were against smaller non-fighters. If you watch his fight with Nate Robinson his technique isn’t too great, his footwork is sloppy and his feet come together a lot. If he was a boxer and believed he was a high level boxer he would be fighting boxers not MMA fighters. Do I think Ben Askren is a good boxer? No. I think it will be an extremely boring fight technically and you will see both men have low skills in the ring. A draw on points wouldn’t surprise me as it would add to the entertainment value and possibly a rematch, after all money talks
Prediction: DRAW
