Jake Paul vs Ben Askren odds: Youtuber is favorite ahead of former MMA champion

Jake Paul will fight former UFC fighter Ben Askren in his next professional bout. The YouTube sensation, who currently holds a record of 2-0 as a professional boxer, revealed on Twitter that the boxing match takes place on April 17, 2021.

Even though Ben Askren is a professional fighter, some betting odds like MyBookie.ag indicate towards Jake Paul being the favorite. As per the stats available on January 26, Ben Askren is the +170 underdog against the -220 favorite Jake Paul.

These odds mean that a bet of $220 on Jake Paul will fetch you a profit of $100. Meanwhile, you can expect a $170 payday if you bet $100 on Askren. These fighter odds are attributed to Ben Askren having never had a professional boxing match. Paul, on the other hand, is favorable as he has been victorious in both his professional boxing matches.

Why has Jake Paul picked Ben Askren to be his next opponent?

Jake Paul's victories have all come against novices like Nate Robinson, a basketball player by profession. This time Jake Paul wants to silence his critics who claim that he has never faced a professional fighter in the ring. Ben Askren holds an MMA record of 19-2 and is Jake Paul's next target.

It’s official😈. April 17th. @triller Fight Club. pic.twitter.com/eYcaTOJhlt

— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) January 26, 2021

However, even Ben 'Funky' Askren has not fought as a professional boxer. Funky is somewhat known for taking his opponents down and imposing his will on them. In an interview with Ariel Helwani recently, Askren stated that he has never been a "hittable" opponent throughout his career.

"At the end of the day, I was never trying to be a great standup fighter in mixed martial arts. I took people down - beat them up nineteen times. If you look at my fights prior to Jorge [Masvidal], I took every single person down. I was highly effective in my strategy. Also, besides Masvidal, I've never been knocked down", said Ben Askren on the Ariel Helwani MMA show.

Askren mentioned the fact that he does not possess the power to knock out his opponents. Askren will consequently look to wear Jake Paul down until he submits to the relentless pressure.

“Yeah, because I don’t have a huge amount of power. So, it’d take me some time to wear him down and make him hate his life. And then, you know, eventually, he’ll just say look, ‘I’m a rich celebrity. I don’t need to get f**king punched anymore. I’m just gonna roll over’.”

Both the opponents have a lot on the line in this matchup. It is certain that Ben Askren will try to answer the "jabs" thrown at him on Twitter by Jake Paul.

“I don’t think Ben Askren will even hit me. That’s my prediction.” @JakePaul laughed off Askren’s prediction of a seventh-round knockout 😅 (via @ArielHelwani) pic.twitter.com/GGzNiH9ut5

— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) January 27, 2021