Paulie Malignaggi thinks Ben Askren has no right to call himself a fighter anymore.
Askren will make his professional boxing debut when he faces YouTube star Jake Paul in an eight-round bout on April 17 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Despite Askren’s accolades in combat sports, which include two NCAA wrestling national championships and MMA titles under both the Bellator and ONE Championship banners, Malignaggi was rather dismissive of him. He ripped Askren’s striking and considers him an ideal matchup for Paul.
“In reality, I think he’s (Paul) where he should be after two years,” Malignaggi said on “The Schmozone” podcast. “So you can’t really match him against somebody all that dangerous, just because you don’t like that he’s making this money as a boxer when some other boxers aren’t. I think Askren is good progression because Askren is technically an ex-fighter now as opposed to just an ex-athlete.”
Askren was on the receiving end of the fastest knockout in UFC history when he was blasted by a Jorge Masvidal flying knee at UFC 239 in 2019. After that, Malignaggi finds it hard to give Askren credit as a fighter.
“He was a great wrestler from what I hear,” Malignaggi said. “But his striking was, from what I’ve seen, some of the most pitiful in combat sports, and you’re forcing him to use what he’s not good at. So you can technically call him a fighter. Personally, me, anytime you get knocked out in less than five seconds in any fight, you lose the ability to call yourself a fighter ever again. So I don’t think Ben Askren can ever call himself a fighter ever again – even if you fight.
“You may be somebody that fights, but you’re technically not a ‘fighter’ anymore because no fighter is getting knocked out in five seconds or less like he did. Jake Paul went from YouTuber, to ex-pro athlete to fighting somebody that fights. He’s yet to fight a fighter, but it’s progression.”
Paulie Malignaggi: ‘I don’t think Ben Askren can ever call himself a fighter ever again’
