Growing up, I dreamed of working at TSN.  My life was sports, and it still is to this day.  I consider myself lucky to be in the position I’m in, having the opportunity to write about a sport in which I’m very passionate about.

That said, never once in my wildest imagination did I picture myself writing a serious piece about an ex-Disney star/YouTuber ready to take on his toughest test in the boxing ring.

But here we are and there’s money to be made, so without further ado here’s my knockout pick of the week.

JAKE PAUL vs BEN ASKREN – APRIL 17 (TRILLER)

I’m going to be truthful for a minute here. When Jake Paul knocked out Nate Robinson back in November, it was an insufferable moment in time for most combat sports fans.  Here comes a 24-year-old who, in a sport where fighters pay their dues in blood and sweat for years before receiving and kind of break, knocks out a former basketball player with no previous experience in the ring and now thinks he’s the best boxer on planet earth.  Paul went on to call out various MMA fighters to try and lure them into a fight with his childish antics, including the likes of Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz and the one that bit, Ben Askren.

Paul enters this eight-round affair with Askren as the -175 favourite which is pretty surprising. What I find to be absolutely shocking is that the odds makers not only predict, but expect Paul to knock out Askren, as his odds are listed at -110 to do so. 

Ben Askren is not a gamer nor a former slam dunk champion, he’s simply a fighter and a good one at that.  Despite going just 1-2 in the UFC, he’s held titles among multiple world class organizations such as One Championship and Bellator.  He’s faced and beaten the likes of former and current champions Robbie Lawler, Douglas Lima, and Andrey Koreshkov.  Askren, a former Olympian, amassed a 19-2 record in Mixed Martial Arts and seldomly had to rely on his striking to win fights because his wrestling was so dominant.  Well in his last fight in the UFC, we finally got a glimpse Ben Askren’s stand up skills.  Unable to secure takedowns at will against one of the best jiu-jitsu practitioners in the world, Damien Maia, he had to rely on his striking.  Let’s just say Askren made Maia look like a championship boxer, eventually losing via submission in the third round after getting battered on the feet by a man not known for boxing prowess either. 

What Askren may lack in technique, he makes up for in cardio, experience, and grit.  Wrestlers are known to have a grinder and hard-working mentality, and I promise you he is not taking this fight lightly.  The former UFC Fighter has been preparing under the tutelage of one the most legendary trainers in the sport Freddie Roach who trained the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Mike Tyson, and Oscar de La Hoya throughout their prime.

Ben Askren has been knocked out once in 21 pro fights by the knee of Jorge Masvidal, which unfortunately turned out to be the most viral knockout of all time.  Now I’m no scientist here, but I’m fairly sure the impact of a flying knee is a bit harder than a punch padded by 8 oz gloves.

Now, let me play devil’s advocate for a moment. I can sit here and continue to bash the character of Jake Paul, but the kid can flat out box.  Yes, it’s easy to diminish his accomplishments when he hasn’t faced anyone of note yet and acts like he’s beaten Floyd Mayweather.

However, when former world champions and pound for pound greats talk about is budding skills, you tend to listen. On Mike Tysons’s podcast, both he and former champion Zab Judah praised Paul to Dana White claiming he has hands.  Dana wasn’t too convinced and still bet a million dollars on Askren to win, but that’s beside the point.  The 24-year-old has also been earning praise from current fighters who he has sparred with in the ring, including current light heavyweight WBA champion Jean Pascal.

There are many questions left to be answered Saturday night as discussed in this article, but the one I can’t seem to get my head around is why in the world is it plus money for the fight to go all eight rounds? Askren has been in there with world class fighters and has only been knocked out once by a flying knee at full force.  On the contrary - Askren seems to possess minimal (if not any) power in hands, So I really do not think Paul is in any danger of getting knocked out himself.   I believe Paul does hold the skill advantage here, and it’s very possible Paul walks away with the victory.  This is a 50/50 fight and I really have no idea who’s going to win.

However, it’s preposterous to assume a professional fighter that has fought to the final bell seven times in his career, won’t be able to go the distance with Jake Paul. 

CODY’S PICK: Fight to go the distance +150