Watch | Jake Paul and Ben Askren get physical at pre-fight face off

Jake Paul and Ben Askren came face-to-face for the first time, and to no surprise, the two got physical with one another.

Paul and Askren are set to box on April 17 in a very intriguing fight given Paul will face a real fighter for the first time, while Askren will make his boxing debut. In the lead-up to the fight, Triller put on a press conference on Friday and had a face off between the two which ended in Askren shoving Paul and the YouTube star shoving him right back.

Ben Askren vs Jake Paul intense faceoff ends with Ben putting his hand in Jake’s face and Jake shoving him #Triller pic.twitter.com/fFQVokTkpI

— Helen Yee (@HelenYeeSports) March 26, 2021

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the two were getting physical with one another given they have trash-talked one another. It appears both men don’t like the other and this was the first time they became face-to-face. The staredown and them getting physical also only added some hype to the fight which is now only weeks away.

Jake Paul is coming off a knockout win over Nate Robinson on the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. undercard. That was also the first event Triller promoted. In January of 2020, the 23-year-old made his pro debut as he scored a first-round TKO win over fellow YouTuber, AnEsonGib. He also has one amateur boxing fight on the first Logan Paul vs. KSI fight card where he beat KSI’s younger brother, Deji by TKO.

Ben Askren, meanwhile, retired from MMA after his loss to Demian Maia in October of 2019 and his need for hip surgery. During his MMA career, he was the Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight champion and was traded to the UFC in exchange for Demetrious Johnson. Inside the Octagon, he submitted Robbie Lawler but was then knocked out by Jorge Masvidal and submitted by Maia for his only two career losses.

What do you make of Jake Paul and Ben Askren shoving each other at their face off?