Ben Askren is doing everything he can to gain an advantage for his upcoming boxing match against YouTube sensation Jake Paul. This includes getting his hands on a tailor-made boxing robe with “Funky” printed on the back.
Askren, who meets Paul on Apr. 17 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga., is coming out of retirement for this boxing payday. The former One Championship and Bellator MMA champion stepped away from combat sports back in 2019 shortly after his submission loss to Demian Maia at UFC on ESPN+ 20. It was Askren’s second-straight defeat after getting starched by Jorge Masvidal in six seconds just a few months prior.
While Askren’s UFC career didn’t necessarily go as planned “Funky” is hoping to step back into the limelight and teach Paul a lesson or two about fighting. After all, Askren has been around combat sports for nearly 20 years. Paul, on the other hand, has about 20 minutes of experience inside of the boxing ring.
Luckily for Askren, he has a pretty sweet boxing robe to throw on before he makes his walk to the ring next weekend on PPV. Askren shared a video of his custom attire early Friday via Twitter. Check it out below:
Boxer or Pimp??? @coinflipatm you guys rock.
All glitz and glamour aside, Askren is going to have his work cut out for him if he plans on defeating Paul next weekend in Atlanta. Not only is Paul younger, faster, and stronger, but he’s talking a very big game. The former YouTube star is going to bring all the heat “Funky” can handle. It will be up to Askren to keep his cool, lean on Paul, tire him out, and flip the script in the later rounds.
If Askren is unable to do that then this custom robe might be the only cool thing he takes away from this.