The latest example of boxing being used as a spectacle over a sport occurred on Saturday night when Triller put on an event headlined by a bout between internet personality Jake Paul and decorated wrestler/mixed martial artist Ben Askren. In what could only have been described as an event that tried to be more than a boxing card, Paul ended the evening quickly, picking up a victory over Askren via TKO in round one.
Askren, a former Olympic wrestler who has accrued a 19-2 career in the UFC, did not look to be expecting anything other than a slow, calculated flight. So as Paul came out and threw haymakers, obviously looking for a first round knockout, he was unable to do much of anything, and with one right hook, the fight came to an end.
JAKE PAUL. 1ST ROUND. BOOM. 💥😳 https://t.co/anMHypqM9q
— BroBible (@BroBible) April 18, 2021
The fight caught the eye of the Twitterverse, in part because plenty of folks looked back on one particular fight in Askren’s UFC career and believed something weird was going on here.
https://twitter.com/LakeShowYo/status/1383647197166665732
https://twitter.com/chrisfnonyt/status/1383647516789407746
Ben Askren wore all of these punches but took only one from Jake Paul 🤔 https://t.co/xoBDsCJgt8
— BroBible (@BroBible) April 18, 2021
The Jake Paul fight was rigged and/or Askren didn’t care. This is what Askren can overcome when he’s trying, nothing on the planet can convince me that punch got him
Really good money making scheme though
— Zealand (@theoldzealand) April 18, 2021
Askren was all smiles walking out of the ring, leading to further questions about his priorities.
This man Ben Askren collected his bag to lose to Jake Paul on purpose and dipped😂😂 pic.twitter.com/HZ7hXkYIeX
— FreshKidd (@imFreshKidd) April 18, 2021
https://twitter.com/JrMoneyGettin/status/1383648189249511427
Not saying it’s rigged but Ben askren has said several times he did this for fun and his life doesn’t change if he won or lost to Jake Paul Lmao pic.twitter.com/L67m3svVpy
— jw (@jwmedia12) April 18, 2021
How much money Ben Askren get to throw that?
— Tyler (@I_AM_WILDCAT) April 18, 2021
https://twitter.com/Prime_VC/status/1383648502178140167
https://twitter.com/bansky/status/1383644244020060169
Jake Paul and Ben Askren laughing all the way to the bank after swindling everyone #TrillerFightClub pic.twitter.com/Gq4j21Vtjd
— The Real One ☄️ (@WWEREALONE) April 18, 2021
But otherwise, the Twitterverse came together to get a bunch of jokes off over the entire thing, with a special shout out to the last guy to fight Paul, Nate Robinson.
This was a better fight then Jake Paul vs Ben Askren https://t.co/kBbj9Ieiqc
— Angry Man (@mythical65) April 18, 2021
https://twitter.com/PartTimeMavsFan/status/1383643604590026752
How the Jake Paul vs Ben Askren fight went:#JakePaulvsBenAskren #trillerfightnight pic.twitter.com/nrYGq1PaVe
— AllThingsAMP (@AllThingsAMP) April 18, 2021
https://twitter.com/JZepeda_13/status/1383643391330709510
The MMA community watching Askren get one punched by Jake Paul pic.twitter.com/TRoVFRlI85
— The Strangle Squad (@_StrangleSquad) April 18, 2021
https://twitter.com/AkivaElefant/status/1383644018379083778
Nate Robinson somewhere realizing he lasted longer than Ben Askren pic.twitter.com/i0pcpmw5iw
— Stephen A. Smith Burner “Parody” (@TheSASBurner) April 18, 2021
https://twitter.com/30SecFights/status/1383647325772423172
Nate Robinson after Jake Paul beat Ben Askren pic.twitter.com/9nppAX31IW
— Plu (@akapluu) April 18, 2021
https://twitter.com/treboltontweets/status/1383648030809739286
Even Stephen A. Smith, who I do not think sleeps, got in on the fun.
See, this has to stop. @jakepaul is not some scrub. He’s a pro now. Askren, even though he’s a @ufc fighter, is a grappler. Not a boxer. So why was he even in the damn ring? From now on, Paul needs to fight an actual boxer. He’s gonna hurt any non-boxer.
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) April 18, 2021
It stands to reason Paul will keep getting fights after this. As for Askren, well, let’s just say if we see him fight again, we expect that it’ll be in the Octagon and not in the ring.
