ATLANTA – Ben Askren’s coach and cornerman Mike Rhodes says Saturday’s fight with Jake Paul isn’t just for a paycheck.
Askren is ready to come out of his martial arts retirement to make his professional boxing debut against Paul in the main event of the Triller Fight Club event on Saturday, which takes place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and will be broadcast on pay-per-view.
Many wondered why Askren, a former Bellator and ONE Championship title holder, would switch sports at this stage to take on Paul. Askren has said his payday will be more lucrative than all the money he made in three UFC fights combined, but Rhodes is adamant that this isn’t his only motive.
“I think people think Ben is here to just pick up a check,” Rhodes told MMA Junkie on Thursday. “Ben is one of the most competitive people you can meet in your life. No matter what it is, he’s competitive. … The last thing we want is to lose to Jake Paul. If people think he’s just doing this for fun or playing as a game, you’ll see the fight. “
Askren is certainly not known as a striker. His wrestling background allowed him to gain prominence in MMA, but Rhodes said he has noticed a change now that Askren has been fully committed to working his hands over the past few months. It wasn’t the easiest adaptation, but Rhodes has seen the evolution and thinks Askren has come into shape that will lead to success on fight night.
“If you look at Ben’s career and you look at Jake’s career, just the sheer amount of time and experience you spent in the arena, be it the boxing ring or the cage, will make him feel more comfortable there,” said Rhodes. . So the longer the fight lasts, the better for us. Ben has said several times that he is not a fast athlete. Those guys have better cardio, better fitness and I think one of the things Ben would say right now is he can focus on the boxing, the cardio form he’s in right now, he can do that all day long . We will dominate when the fight is close. All we have to do is make the distance fight competitive because over time we will catch up with it as our fighting experience – not just boxing, but fighting – is going to shine. “
Rhodes said he does not address Askren to be more than fighting this fight. He sees “tricky” attributes, such as strength, creating a path to victory for his fighter, with whom he will share a corner with former UFC champion Tyron Woodley. In the end, he imagines that Paul has many problems.
“I’m not going to blow smoke: I’m not going to say he just crushes the pads, but he has that uncomfortable power,” Rhodes said. ‘Those guys who got hold of him will tell you it’s different. It’s not like just grabbing a barbell and weighing 600 pounds, but it makes those people feel weak. His strength is clumsy because his punching style is clunky. I think that will be an advantage. In positions where you think he will not be able to hit hard, he will be able to generate power.
“I think Ben is kind of heavy-handed to the point that he doesn’t have any athletic strength, but at the end of the punch it stings a little bit. I think with his cardio and the punch numbers he’ll be able to put out, I think his strength will be able to wear down Jake rather than the one-time strength that can end the fight. “
All this leads to a fascinating collision on Saturday. Rhodes insists Askren should not be underestimated, and he joins his fighter’s prediction of a late TKO.
“I think they screwed up – I think they thought Jake would dominate everything,” Rhodes said. “I think that’s a very safe and reliable choice. If something happened sooner and it comes to a decision and we win, good. “