ATLANTA – Ben Askren’s boxing match with Jake Paul could not have gone worse than for the former Bellator and ONE championship title.
Askren was disappointed Saturday night, to say the least, after his fight ended in ruin when he suffered a loss in the first round of TKO in front of the YouTube star of the Triller Fight Club headliner at the Mercedes-Benz stadium.
It was a one-way fight, while Paul dropped a bomb with a fist that threw Askren. He got up again, but could not respond intelligently to the referee, forcing him to wave.
Askren participated in a virtual media session after the contest and expressed his shame for the result.
“I didn’t disappoint the MMA community, I disappointed the world,” Askren told reporters after the fight. “People hate Jake Paul and they wanted me to make him miserable.”
Sorry world 🙁
– Funky (@Benaskren) April 18, 2021
Askren, 36, has retired to fight Paul after a hip replacement. Askren, a former Olympic wrestler and two-time collegiate national champion, has never been known for his shot in his MMA career.
He showed up on Saturday night against 24-year-old Paul, who moved his professional record to 3-0.