YouTuber Jake Paul To Fight Former UFC Star Ben Askren In Eight-Round Pro Boxing Match

Jake Paul will come up against former UFC welterweight Ben Askren in an eight-round, professional boxing match on April 17th.

The YouTube star, who beat former NBA player Nate Robinson with a brutal second-round knockout back in November, will fight former Bellator and ONE champion Askren under the Triller Fight Club banner.

It is believed the card on April 17th will feature other social media celebrities and MMA fighters, as well as boxers from the past and present, according to ESPN.

Paul vs Askren, meanwhile, will serve as the main event of the evening.

The eight-round fight is expected to be contested with ten-ounce gloves, says Triller founder Ryan Kavanaugh, who has also revealed that the bout will take place in a twenty-by-twenty ring.

It will be the first boxing match of Askren's career and the 36-year-old sounds confident.

"I know Jake Paul is enjoying pretending he is a fighter," Askren told ESPN.

"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."

YouTube personality Paul also released a statement about the upcoming fight on his official Twitter account earlier.

"Representing the UFC Mr. Napoleon Dynamite look-alike Ben Askren finally accepted the fight." Paul wrote.

"He is a two-time NCAA champion, a world champion in two different global mixed martial arts organizations and has [sic] less losses on his record than Conor McGregor, yet, I'm still going to knock him out faster than Masvidal did.

"Some MMA guys think because they throw punches they know how to box. I shocked the world when I knockout an NBA superstar athlete, but some people still complained that he's not a real fighter.

"So now I'm giving the people what they want by taking on a real fighter. After I add Ben to my knockout meme collection, what can anybody say? April 17. 82 days. The countdown starts now. Be ready."

Thoughts on the fight? Can Paul pick up another win in his boxing journey?

Let us know in the comments.

Topics: Ben Askren, Boxing News, UFC News, Boxing, Jake Paul, UFC, YouTube

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_