Ben Askren says “bet the house” after opening as betting underdog to Jake Paul

Former UFC welterweight Ben Askren says to “bet the house” after opening up as the betting underdog to YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.

Askren confirmed on Tuesday to BJPenn.com that he has accepted a boxing match with Paul that is scheduled to take place on March 28 in Los Angeles. Askren later took to his social media to release a video explaining why he accepted Paul’s callout, admitting he took the fight because he views it as easy money. Even though he’s a wrestler by trade and not a striker, Askren believes that he has the upper hand because he is a professional athlete who has competed at the highest levels of combat sports for nearly 20 years.

A day after the Askren vs. Paul fight was announced, the online sportsbooks released the opening betting odds for the fight. Check them out below (h/t TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter).

Per @betonline_ag, Ben Askren opens as the underdog for his proposed boxing match against Jake Paul pic.twitter.com/zWQGwpCn1r

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) December 23, 2020

Paul opened as a -180 betting favorite. That means a $180 bet would win $100. As for Askren, he opened as a +150 betting underdog. That means a $100 bet would win $150.

After seeing that he was the betting underdog, Askren took to his Twitter to make a comment instructing fans to “bet the house” on him pulling off the upset against Paul.

Bet the house https://t.co/iMk3ZsyEuW

— Funky (@Benaskren) December 23, 2020

Bet the house

While some fans are scoffing at this matchup, writing it off as a ‘freakshow fight’ just like the critics said about Paul vs. Robinson, there is no doubt this Askren vs. Paul is going to be a massive sporting event in early 2021. Paul became a superstar with his highlight-reel KO over Robinson, and while Askren retired from MMA in 2019, he is still one of the best trash talkers in all of the combat sports. Paul is the betting favorite here because he has professional boxing experience, not to mention the fact that he is 14 years younger than his opponent, but you can’t count out Askren from beating him given his MMA experience.

Who will your money be on for this fight, Ben Askren or Jake Paul?