Ben Askren is seeking help from one of boxing’s legendary coaches ahead of his first foray into the squared circle.
Askren, who faces YouTube star Jake Paul in an eight-round bout under the Triller banner on April 17 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, has been training non-stop since he’s been cleared from hip surgery.
The former ONE Championship and Bellator welterweight titleholder is looking to gain some boxing know-how ahead of the bout and is currently in California to train with famed boxing coach Freddie Roach at his Wild Card gym.
“I’m trying to be as good of a boxer as I can,” Askren told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’m not under the impression that I’m gonna be a pro boxer. I’ve been top 10 in the world in four different sports. I know what it’s like to be world class. I’m not gonna be a world-class boxer, but I don’t gotta be a world-class boxer. I just gotta beat up Jake freaking Paul. That ain’t gonna be that hard, guys.”
Askren has spent most of his time in his usual training camp at home in Milwaukee, buthe is changing things up by training with Roach, who has recently worked with former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson.
“I’m only in L.A. for a week, so I’m gonna get as much as I can out of Freddie Roach,” Askren said. “I’m gonna pick his brain. So I started training, maybe six weeks it’s been. First couple of weeks was just like strength and conditioning, let me get back in shape because I couldn’t really start training until Dec. 1 because of my hip surgery. I couldn’t do anything until Dec. 1.
“So it’s like, ‘Hey let’s get back in shape,’ so I did a couple of weeks strength and conditioning. I was working with Duke (Roufus) and ‘Cush’ (striking coach Scott Cushman) and Mike Rhodes, former UFC fighter, old teammate who’s been helping me a bunch. And then I brought in this guy ‘K9’ Cornelius Bundrage from Detroit. He reached out on Twitter. He’s been really good. It’s been a lot of fun. So I brought him in twice for a week and I took Sunday off, but before that, I had boxed 18 out of 19 days.”
Ben Askren enlists boxing coach Freddie Roach’s help for Jake Paul bout
