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Internet celebrity Jake Paul invited UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier for a boxing sparring session in preparation for his upcoming fight with Ben Askren.
Jake Paul recently announced that he is going to have a boxing match against Askren on April 17. Askren is a former ONE and Bellator welterweight champion who later joined the UFC.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer believes that many MMA fighters are not that good at boxing. Talking to ESPN's Ariel Helwani, Jake Paul said he would like to train with Poirier after seeing what he did during his win over former UFC double champion Conor McGregor.
"I don't respect a lot of MMA fighters' strike. Okay, like even watching Dustin Poirier, you know? He did a great job against [Conor] McGregor. I would love Poirier... I would love to spar you in boxing," Jake Paul said to Poirier. "Because when I see these guys, their stand-up game. They're just, like, I don't know, it just doesn't impress me—a lot of these MMA guys. So, I want to go to spar Poirier. So, Poirier, if you're watching this, you know, let's get in touch because I would love to set up a sparring session, you can help me out for my fight with Askren, but I don't know. I'm just not impressed with these guys' boxing at all."
Even though Jake Paul claims to be above MMA athletes' level at boxing, he still has not competed against a professional fighter. In his only two professional boxing matches, Jake Paul faced a fellow-YouTuber and a retired basketball player.
On the other hand, Askren was never known for his skills standing up. A former Olympic wrestler, he became a two fighting organizations' champion due to his superior grappling and ability on the ground.
Ben Askren promised to end Jake Paul's boxing dream
Former UFC welterweight Ben Askren promised to end the boxing dreams of YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. The two will enter the ring against each other on April 17 in a yet to be announced location.
"I know Jake Paul is enjoying pretending he is a fighter. I think on April 17 he is going to have a rude awakening to what being a fighter is really like. Jake has led a privileged life and doesn't really know what the meaning of being a fighter is. I'm going to put his dreams to an end."
The fight was finally confirmed after almost a month of speculation and uncertainty. Askren released a video to his Twitter account accepting Jake Paul's call-out, but the YouTuber had not answered it until now.
