Stephen Thompson ‘refuses to watch’ Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren, ‘It’s kind of cringe’

With the upcoming boxing match between Jake Paul and Ben Askren rapidly approaching, the community’s excitement is building. Stephen Thompson, however, isn’t among those in anticipation.

On April 17, the world finally gets to see if the younger Paul brother can defeat an actual combat sports veteran. But despite Askren’s former fellow UFC welterweight contender in Thompson supporting “Funky,” he won’t be watching.

“I refuse,” Thompson told MMA Fighting. “I refuse. I refuse to watch that. It is kind of cringe. I think it’s kind of cringe. The YouTube people, the people who are just in it for the entertainment—which, everybody’s watching for the entertainment—but as an athlete, that shouldn’t even make sense. That shouldn’t even make sense to me.

“I think it would just hurt Ben Askren’s legacy. I know some other guy, [Paul’s] brother [Logan] tried to get the fight with [Floyd] Mayweather. I think it would just hurt their legacy.

“As an athlete, I don’t think it makes sense, but as entertainment, as a fan of the game, and me being a YouTuber as well, those guys are making moves,” Stephen Thompson continued. “The Paul brothers are making moves. So hats off to those guys, but I just want to slap ‘em. I want to slap ‘em. I do. I hope that Ben Askren goes out there—I know it’s boxing—but picks him up and slams him, gets disqualified, and looks at him and says, ‘That’s real fighting.’”

Thompson and Askren never crossed paths during their brief time together in the UFC, but one has helped prepare teammates for the other. Close friends with former champion Tyron Woodley, Askren’s UFC run saw him go 1-2 while “Wonderboy” is 3-2 since his pair of bouts vs. Woodley.

Currently riding a nice two-fight winning streak, Thompson is set to do battle with Gilbert Burns on July 10 at UFC 264 in Las Vegas.