Video | Ben Askren lets his hands go on Jake Paul punching bag

Former UFC welterweight contender Ben Askren is already breaking in his customized Jake Paul-inspired punching bag.

Earlier this week, Askren unveiled a custom-made punching bag adorned with Paul’s mug, which will no doubt help him prepare for his April 17 boxing match with the YouTuber-turned-boxer.

Shortly thereafter, Askren shared some footage of himself letting his hands fly on his new punching bag, and it’s generating mixed reactions among fans.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, hot damn that face is ugly!!! pic.twitter.com/G0oAZ9dza6

— Funky (@Benaskren) February 1, 2021

“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” Askren wrote in the caption for his post, channeling Muhammad Ali. “Hot damn that face is ugly.”

Despite his status as one of the best welterweights of his generation, and a former champion in ONE and Bellator, Askren has never been known for his boxing, instead achieving his success with his world-class wrestling skill. Nonetheless, he’s confident his hands are sharp enough to make pretty easy work of Paul in the ring.

“My goal in fighting was never to box somebody,” Askren told TMZ Sports, previewing the fight with Paul. “My goal was to get through the punches and kicks and get to the takedowns and 99% of the time that worked. Obviously, there is one time it didn’t work, unfortunately [against Jorge Masvidal]. My training was very focused on that. That being said, obviously, I’m going to have to change up what I was doing striking wise a little bit. But listen, he’s a f*cking YouTube star. I’m going to beat him up.”

“I have not been blessed with big power,” Askren continued. “I have incredibly slow-twitch muscle fibers. So I don’t think it won’t be more that I hit him and he goes down. But I think it will be more like over the course of eight rounds he realizes, ‘Holy sh*t, I’m in a fight. I don’t really like this. I’m a spoiled rich kid. I’m just going to find an easy way out.’ It’s going to be a TKO. Round six, round seven, something to that effect.”

Do you think Ben Askren can stop Jake Paul in the boxing ring?