Ben Askren believes he could have kept fighting against Jake Paul.
Askren was “knocked out” in the first round against Jake Paul, but the fight’s ending was extremely controversial because the former MMA star appeared ready to keep rolling. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
The ringside view of Jake Paul’s TKO. @ESPNRingside pic.twitter.com/YgasSH1Br4
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 18, 2021
During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Askren said that he felt like he could have kept fighting and even told the ref that he was “fine.” “I told the guy I was ready to fight,” Askren explained to Helwani.
You can listen to him break it all down below.
See, this is what drives me nuts about this past Saturday night. Anyone with eyes and a brain could tell that Askren could keep fighting.
The dude used to eat punches for a snack while fighting MMA. Yet, we’re supposed to believe he couldn’t continue after a single punch?
I think the ref made an absolutely atrocious decision.
JAKE PAUL. 1ST ROUND. BOOM. ???????? pic.twitter.com/anMHypqM9q
— BroBible (@BroBible) April 18, 2021
Askren also denied that the fight was rigged, which I’m sure is true. I don’t think anyone truly thinks it was rigged, but I think we can all agree the ref blew it.
The Jake Paul fight def wasn’t rigged, I mean look at the injuries on Ben Askren. I hope he recovers. #TrillerFightClub pic.twitter.com/7tttv3LG6v
— Austin (@AustinPlanet) April 18, 2021
Now, Askren can ride off into the sunset with a big paycheck and call it a day. It’s just a damn shame he never even got a real shot.