Ben Askren hits the pads ahead of boxing match with Jake Paul on Saturday (Video)

Watch former UFC fighter-turned-boxer Ben Askren hit the pads ahead of his boxing match with Jake Paul on Saturday on Triller.

Askren makes his highly-anticipated boxing debut this weekend when he takes on the YouTuber-turned-boxer in a high-profile boxing match. Askren came up as a wrestler in college before making the transition into mixed martial arts during the late 2000s. Since 2009, Askren has been competing at the highest level of the sport in both Bellator and in the UFC, racking up a 19-2, 1 NC record overall in MMA. However, after losing to Demian Maia and Robbie Lawler in the UFC in 2019, he decided to walk away, citing a hip issue.

During his MMA career, Askren was able to rely on his wrestling to win fights, but he was training his striking with Roufusport the whole time. After having successful surgery on his hips in 2020, Askren decided to make a comeback into combat sports, only this time, he decided to go to boxing instead of back into MMA. Ahead of his fight this weekend against Paul, Askren was at the open workouts and showed off his boxing skills. Take a look at Asken hitting the pads and let us know what your thoughts are (h/t MMAJunkie.com).

.@BenAskren rips the pads at open workouts ahead of his pro boxing debut vs. Jake Paul. What do you think?#TrillerFightClub | Full video: https://t.co/ejYsu8QoXV pic.twitter.com/GAiQUbBoHg

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) April 14, 2021

This is the first time we’ve really seen Askren hitting the pads at length as he’s mostly kept his training camp private before this fight. Judging by the video, it looks like Askren has good technique, but his hands look low. Of course, Askren looks a lot better with his striking now than he did a few months ago, so you have to give him credit regarding his improvements. We will find out on Saturday night if it’s enough to defeat Paul.

How did you think Ben Askren looked hitting the pads before the Jake Paul fight?