Askren brushes off Jake Paul's boxing skills, calls fans 'delusional'

Ben Askren doesn't consider Jake Paul much of a threat.

In his first athletic endeavor since retiring from mixed martial arts in 2019, the former UFC fighter is scheduled to make his professional boxing debut against the internet personality on April 17.

Paul is a small betting favorite for the contest, likely because Askren primarily used his wrestling during his MMA career. But Askren believes people are heavily overestimating Paul's fighting ability.

"I stepped in the cage with trained killers, guys who did this for a living. Jake Paul is a YouTube star," Askren told ESPN's Ariel Helwani. "He beat up two guys who have literally never been in a fight before in their lives. The notion that this guy's good at boxing is delusional."

Paul is 2-0 as a pro boxer and gained a lot of attention when he knocked out former NBA guard Nate Robinson in the co-main event of the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. event in November.

But Askren represents his biggest challenge yet. Before competing three times in the UFC in 2019, Askren won titles in Bellator and ONE Championship.

"Think about the guys I've stood across the cage from: Douglas Lima, Andrey Koreshkov, Robbie Lawler," Askren said. "And they only had four-ounce gloves on and they could punch me, or elbow me, or kick me, or knee me. They could do whatever the hell they wanted.

"Now I have to box this YouTube star with 10-ounce gloves on. It just is not all that concerning to me."