It took Jake Paul less than two minutes to win his third professional fight.
Paul, the YouTube star turned boxer, sent Ben Askren to the canvas with a straight right hand midway through the first round of their cruiserweight bout. Even though Askren got up, referee Brian Stutts decided that Askren couldn’t continue, giving Paul a first-round knockout at 1:59 p.m.
Paul (3-0, 3 KO) then collapsed on the canvas in tears before doing fourth and push-ups in the ring. 24-year-old Paul quickly took care of Askren. He was patient for the first minute as Askren chased him around the ring.
When Paul began to feel comfortable, he quickly turned to 36-year-old Askren. He started up the straight on the right with a punch and the solid contact sent Askren down. After the fight, Paul climbed into the broadcast booth to celebrate with Snoop Dogg.
“It’s been four months. I went to a training camp every day,” said Paul after the fight on Triller. “I deserved that s —. This is the craziest moment of my life.
“I told you all I would do it in the first round. I told you all that I am a real fighter. I don’t know how often I have to prove to myself that this is real. ‘
Paul made 9 of the 26 punches in the fight, while Askren landed 3 of the 14 punches. It was Paul’s last two punches that did the most damage. Paul told Snoop Dogg after the fight that he didn’t even get a chance to really warm up.
This came months after Paul knocked out former basketball player Nate Robinson in the first round with a viral knockout during Triller’s first fight on the undercard of the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. main event in November.
Paul headlined Triller’s second event and dismissed Askren, making his boxing debut almost as quickly.
Paul’s entry, where he walked into the ring with some sort of fake robot accompanying him, may have lasted longer than the fight itself. Paul’s victory ended an evening that was a complete spectacle.
It featured a literal punch fight, performances by The Black Keys, Doja Cat, Ice Cube, Mount Westmore and Justin Bieber. The wandering reporter / comedian Pete Davidson stole the show and made fun of everything and everyone.
After the fight, Paul said he dedicated it to his guard, who died 10 days ago. It was part of a news-heavy week for Paul, who was also accused by TikTok star Justine Paradise of forcing her to perform a sexual act without permission in 2019. Paul’s attorney told ESPN earlier this week that Paul “had the accusation. categorically denies “.
Boxing was secondary for most of the evening when musician-after-musician performed, with one fight for the first two hours of the Pay Per View – a two-round fight as Reykon refused to come out of the corner for the third round. to Joe Fournier.
Otherwise, it was music and skits – the show started with a skit where Snoop Dogg and Jaleel White, who played his iconic role as Steve Urkel from ‘Family Matters’, joked about marijuana – with very little actual fighting in the fight club.
Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube recognized rapper DMX and boxing-great Marvin Hagler, who both died earlier this year, on the show, including with a video honoring the late rapper.
Even the fight with the most famous candidate, Regis Prograis, ended in controversy after his opponent, Ivan Redkach, was taken out of the ring on a stretcher after a punch from Prograis in the sixth round.
Scheduled for 10 rounds, the fight went to the scorecards, with Prograis taking a win with a majority of 60-54, 60-54, 59-54.
ESPN’s Marc Raimondi contributed to this report.