YouTube star knocks out former MMA champ in boxing spectacle

Even the one legitimate fight on Saturday night’s Triller pay-per-view card in Atlanta devolved into a circus.

The event generated a great deal of attention for pitting YouTube sensation Jake Paul, who has 20 million followers on the platform, against Olympic wrestler and former mixed martial arts champion Ben Askren in a professional boxing match in Atlanta.

Several local sportsbooks indicated it was the most heavily bet fight of the year thus far, and Paul wasted little time rewarding his backers with a first-round knockout.

Askren, who has been retired since 2019 and had hip replacement surgery, came out slow and tentative. He landed a couple of short right hands, though he didn’t appear menacing.

Paul floored him with a wild right hand. Askren quickly got back to his feet, but the referee didn’t like his response and called the fight.

Askren, a two-time national champion wrestler at Missouri, often was criticized for his lack of striking ability in mixed martial arts, though it didn’t stop him from winning welterweight titles in Bellator and ONE Championship.

He spent the past three months training in boxing, including a stint with famed trainer Freddie Roach in Los Angeles.

Paul entered the bout 2-0 as a professional boxer, including a knockout of former NBA player Nate Robinson. He has insisted he is taking his career seriously and hopes to pursue the profession long term.

Those plans likely will be solidified by his latest victory.

The card also featured a pairing of legitimate professional boxers in a mismatch.

Regis Prograis, a former WBA light welterweight champion and the No. 3 ranked fighter in the world, won by unanimous decision over Ivan Redkach to improve to 26-1.

Prograis, who entered the ring as a massive minus-4,000 favorite, was not able to get his 22nd knockout.

He landed a blow that appeared to be to the body, but Redkach writhed in pain and complained of a low blow until a stretcher was brought out to the ring.

The fight went to the scorecards and Prograis won 60-54, 60-54 and 59-54.

The rest of the broadcast could only be described as a spectacle.

In between random musical performances and a slap fighting matchup that featured a quick knockout, a seemingly endless string of commentators offered their opinions in various states of sobriety.

On several occasions during the Prograis fight, a chorus of voices that included Snoop Dogg, Oscar De La Hoya, the actor who played Slater on “Saved By The Bell” and someone called “Crimefaces,” would just scream, “Oh!” into their microphones with little regard for any kind of description of the action.

Boxing commentator Al Bernstein’s occasional efforts to restore order mostly were ignored.

Former pro boxer Steve Cunningham, who once knocked down Tyson Fury, bested former UFC heavyweight champion and Las Vegan Frank Mir by unanimous decision in Mir’s pro debut.

Also, Colombian reggaeton artist Reykon failed to land a single punch before he was stopped after two rounds in his grudge match against Joe Fournier.

Fournier is a former professional boxer who had an 8-0 record before retiring in 2015 to focus on his successful nightlife empire. He and Reykon agreed to fight after an altercation at a Miami lounge in February.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.