Former MMA fighter Ben Askren says his biggest motivation behind accepting the fight with star-studded boxer Jake Paul was money, but he says he still took his training seriously, despite rumors on social media that the fight looks like it.
Askren said during an appearance on the “Louder with Crowder” podcast on Monday that he remained the day after the fight on social media and was “disappointed” after the loss to Paul on Saturday, where he was in the first few minutes of the first round was knocked out. . But despite what an overwhelming majority of viewers thought, he put a lot of effort into preparing for this fight.
BEN ASKREN’s POST-MATCH RESPONSE GOES VIRAL AFTER JAKE PAUL EXCLUDES
“Some people do not think I took it seriously, and here’s the thing: when I fought, I said No. 1 for the money. No. 2 I think it might be a good time,” he said. said.
“I used to only box for fun with my friends in high school. And I practiced hard for 11 weeks. I did not miss an exercise, and it just did not go my way.”
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Askren said his downfall did not listen to the advice of his trainers during the fight.
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“We knew he had a good lead, and I’m a dumba – and I did not block it,” he explained. “My defense was a little too loose. I heard my coaches, both Tyron (Woodley) and ‘Biggie’ (Mike Rhodes), told me to stop reacting to his fakes, and I did not, and I did. pay the price. ‘
The 36-year-old former Bellator champion reportedly earned $ 500,000 in Saturday’s fight MMAFighting.com, but Paul said on Instagram that the fight brought in 1.5 million pay-per-view purchases, generating $ 75 million in revenue.