"A lot of them are haters" - Ben Askren's teammate addresses harsh criticism ahead of Jake Paul fight

Ben Askren has been facing a lot of doubts from the combat sports community in regards to the Jake Paul fight. Despite being a former Olympian and an MMA veteran, fans are questioning whether Ben Askren will be able to hold his own against YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.

Speaking to James Lynch recently, Ben Askren's longtime Roufusport teammate Mike Rhodes addressed the matter and pointed out how many members of the MMA community "just don't like" Askren because of his accomplishments in the sport.

"First of all, the majority of the people, especially like in the combat community - a lot of them just don't like Ben. A lot of them are haters. A lot of them are people who would never reach the level that he has reached in the sport and so they hold some kind of grudge or something against him... But the fact of the matter is, the guy has been better than the majority of the guys at the sport that they're in. So, for them to speak negatively about him... I just think it reflects more about them than it does about Ben."

'Biggie' went on to add how people expect Ben Askren to act in a certain way, which possibly also leads to them being discouraged when 'Funky' does things differently.

"We have made strides. The thing is, people want him to look a certain way, they want him to punch a certain way, they want him to move and act and talk a certain way. But that's not Ben Askren, right? And that's not the reason why people want to tune in and watch it, whether they wanna watch him win or watch him lose."

Watch the interview below:

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Does Ben Askren have what it takes to knock out Jake Paul?

The combat sports community is massively divided when it comes to the much-awaited boxing match between Ben Askren and Jake Paul. After being built up over months, with social media barbs exchanged on both sides, the fight is finally taking place on April 17 under the Triller Fight Club banner at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

While one half of the combat sports world believes Ben Askren will prevail, being a weathered athlete with years of experience, the other half seems to think Askren's lack of striking ability will play a factor and allow Jake Paul to go home with the win.

In the interview above, Mike Rhodes says the team has been working on improving Ben Askren's striking and while it will not be on-par with any elite-level boxer, it should be more than enough to knock out a YouTuber-turned-boxer.