Jake Paul Opens As Betting Favorite Over Ben Askren

YouTube sensation turned professional boxer Jake Paul has opened as a -180 favorite ahead of his highly anticipated fight with former MMA champion Ben Askren who is a +150 underdog. Head over to the powerplay website for all the latest sports odds.

Earlier today it was confirmed Paul will fight Askren on April 17. The fight will headline a Triller pay-per-view event at a location yet to be disclosed.

Paul enjoyed a successful 2020 in boxing. The 24-year-old picked up two knockout wins. Most notably, he slept former NBA player Nate Robinson on the undercard of Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. in November.

Since then, Paul has been relentlessly pursuing a fight with UFC megastar Conor McGregor and his teammate Dillon Danis. The YouTuber was unable to secure either man for his third professional boxing match and instead opted to face former Bellator and ONE Championship titleholder Ben Askren.

‘Funky’ retired from MMA in 2019 after suffering back-to-back losses against Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia. Askren claimed a pre-existing hip injury had been hampering for a while now, he has since undergone surgery to fix the issue.

Ahead of the bout both men spoke with ESPN.

“I know Jake Paul is enjoying pretending he is a fighter,” Askren said. “I think on April 17 he is going to have a rude awakening to what being a fighter is really like. Jake has led a privileged life and doesn’t really know what the meaning of being a fighter is. I’m going to put his dreams to an end.”

The 24-year-old internet celebrity vowed to knock out Askren on April 17.

“Ben Askren is a two-time NCAA champion, a world champion in two different global mixed martial arts organizations and has less losses on his record than Conor McGregor,” Paul said.

“Me, on the other hand, I started boxing two years ago and I’m still going to knock his ass out faster than [Jorge] Masvidal. These MMA guys think because they throw punches they know how to box. The world complained because I knocked out a basketball player and not a real fighter. So now I’m giving the people what they want by taking on a ‘real fighter.’ After Ben Askren is added to my knockout meme collection, what can anybody say? Thank you to Triller Fight Club for giving me the platform to once again put a man to sleep. April 17, it’s lights out for Askren.”

Who will you be betting on? Jake Paul or Ben Askren?