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Six months ago, Jake Paul knocked out former NBA dunk champion Nate Robinson.
His next challenger? A guy making his boxing debut.
Paul will meet Ben Askren — a former Bellator and ONE welterweight champion who retired from MMA with a 19-2 record following hip replacement surgery — Saturday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
This will be Paul’s third fight. He’s 2-0.
There’s been plenty of the usual pre-fight buildup for this one. Askren talked of committing “homicide” in their press conference on March 26. He didn’t disclose how much he will make from the fight, but said it will probably be “the biggest payday” of his career.
Askren’s net worth is said to be $10 million as of January; he won $263,500 in his last fight.
A slew of others are cashing in on the celebrity boxing trend, too.
- Oscar De La Hoya said that he’s making a boxing comeback in July under Snoop Dogg’s Fight Club banner.
- Lamar Odom is slated to face singer Aaron Carter in the ring this June.
- Zab Judah announced Celebrity Boxing Championships earlier this month, commentated by Young Joc and former boxing world champion Charles Hatley.
Paul vs. Robinson was the undercard for Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr., which sold over 1.6 million pay-per-views and generated more than $80 million in revenue. It was one of the top eight PPV events of all time, JS Communications told FOS.
The fight will be carried on all PPV platforms, including cable, satellite, telco, and streaming.
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