AL BERNSTEIN: Hi, everybody. I'm Al Bernstein. Welcome to what is going to explain to you one of the terrific events coming up on April 17th, Triller Fight Club, its inaugural event. We welcome the folks that are here among the press, and welcome to all of you watching around the world. We're happy that you've joined us.
On April 17th, it will be an event that will merge music and boxing in a unique way. There will be music superstars on hand as well as some fun boxing matches, and what it will create is an evening of high-energy entertainment, which we are really looking forward to.
Today we're going to introduce to you a number of the participants, as well as some folks that are responsible for bringing you this event. Now, I want to remind everyone that a way to watch and follow the fighters is to go to trillerfightclub.com, where you can see all the information and features about the fight, and you can order the event through your cable, satellite, and telco providers.
And, of course, online, you can get it on FITE, which is the premier digital pay-per-view platform for boxing and combat sports.
The best way to start this out is to show you the card we're going to have April 17th. So let's take a peek at it right now.
In the main event, of course, YouTube personality turned boxer, the irrepressible Jake Paul, in his third boxing event, taking on Ben Askren, the former MMA champion, and that should be an intriguing battle.
Then in the co-main event, former 140-pound champ Regis Prograis, taking on Ivan Redkach, who has been a contender in several weight classes.
And former cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham will be taking on big Frank Mir, the former UFC heavyweight champion.
And in a unique match, Joe Fournier, who is a former fitness guru and had a pro boxing career, taking on Felipe -- Andres Felipe Robledo Londono, otherwise known as Reykon. He is a Reggae Nation performer from Colombia who is wildly popular and has a worldwide following. So that one should be a unique event.
This is a varied and interesting card, and one of the things that makes it interesting is in many cases we don't know exactly how all these boxers are going to respond once they get in front of the bright lights and once we see them actually in action.
Now, the main event, which we've already mentioned, of course, is Jake Paul against Ben Askren. Jake questions Ben Askren's boxing ability, and Ben questions the toughness of Jake Paul. So between the two of them, they have had a lot to say, and it's been very, very interesting to build up to this fight. Today we're going to hear from both of them as well.
Let's talk about our first fight, and that is the fight with Joe Fournier from London, who as I mentioned, is a fitness guru. He's a basketball player. He owned a nightclub. He actually had a pro boxing career, in which he was 8-0, and was a pro boxer and did a terrific job in that respect. He was as high as No. 11 in the world.
And then Reykon, who as I said is the leading practitioner of Reggae Nation music. He is a superstar from Colombia, and he is somebody that is new to boxing for sure and somebody that we're anxious to see how well he functions in the ring. So that one is certainly an interesting matchup.
We're going to have a big night of boxing for you. We're going to have that plus the music. Later on we're going to detail all the music acts that you're going to get a chance to see. And we're excited about it. It's a unique event that merges, as I said, both boxing and entertainment.
Now, I think we're ready to bring on our first two participants. So let's bring to the stage Joe Fournier and Reykon. Gentlemen, come on out.
Well, welcome to both of you for being here. I'm going to start out -- we're going to have questions from the press that are assembled here, and we're also going to have some questions remotely sent to us as well, but I'm going to start by asking a couple questions. Joe, I'm going to start with you.
So in previous interviews, I've seen you tell the story about how this fight happened, which is fascinating, to say the least. Share the details of that with our audience.
JOE FOURNIER: Well, Reykon over there has been a bit of a cockblocker, as they say in England, and I was talking to a lady in the restaurant, and he got a little jealous. That's how we're here today.
AL BERNSTEIN: But you were actually in a restaurant in a bar where this all kind of took -- came to a head, didn't you?
JOE FOURNIER: Absolutely. I was there minding my own business, and a girl came walking past, smiling. I've been single for a long time. So on the way to the bathroom, I swinged over and said hello, and then I felt someone like shove me in the back, and obviously being a fighter, I wasn't going to back down. He was with 20 of his cronies, and here we are today. Fair play to him, he signed the contract.
AL BERNSTEIN: He took your challenge for sure. Now, you've mentioned that the interesting thing about this is, of course, you were a pro boxer, and you have a lot of experience. You don't know what to expect from him because there is no history, right?
JOE FOURNIER: Well, ultimately, he's either really brave or really stupid. I haven't quite figured it out. But regardless, I'm training for it like it's a real fight. I'm training for it like he is a champion. Yeah, I'm not trying to get paid overtime by making it last too long, put it that way.
AL BERNSTEIN: Well, we're going to see how it all turns out. I'm going to turn to Reykon. By the way, Marcos Villegas, who is a fine boxing broadcasting and journalist, is going to interpret for us. He's going to handle those responsibilities. Marcos, maybe you could ask Reykon, what was his reason for taking this fight? Why?
REYKON: He knows why. He knows why I'm taking this fight. It was a lack of respect, total lack of respect on his part.
AL BERNSTEIN: Has he boxed before?
REYKON: No, no, no. In the street. You know?
AL BERNSTEIN: Marcos, how long did he have to prepare for this fight? He's only known about it for less than a month, right?
REYKON: Mentally, I'm always ready. I'm ready all the time mentally. Physically, I've only had about 20 days, but mentally, I'm all there.
AL BERNSTEIN: All right. It's going to be quite a brawl, it could be. We've got the folks here, the press members that are going to ask some questions. So let's get to that. Our first gentleman, could you identify yourself and give us your question.
Q. Yeah, my name is John Morgan. I want to start with Joe. You've got a boxing background. You stepped away from the sport a little bit. You explained kind of why you're getting back in. Were you considering a return to fighting at all before this incident took place?
JOE FOURNIER: I actually signed with MTK Global, one of the biggest boxing management companies, probably about two months ago. So I had every intention of coming back. I started training again. This has been a real godsend from Triller to ask me to be on the show, obviously. Everyone knows I don't do this for the money. I do it more for the life experience and mental health side.
So I had every intention of coming back, so when I got the call from Triller, it was like the golden ticket.
Q. I kind of wonder, did you feel like you're putting your reputation on the line? You've got a guy that's never fought before. If you don't go and mop up the floor with him, it's kind of a failure for your side?
JOE FOURNIER: I'm in a no-win situation except for my ego to be massaged slightly. Essentially, I knock him out in the first 90 seconds, I look like a bully; if I lose, I look terrible. I'm going to do the first and just get rid of him quickly.
Q. Reykon, does he share that same genesis story? Does he feel he was being a cockblocker, as he said, or kind of a punk in the club at all?
REYKON: No, no, totally, in that he has to come in now and win the respect because I'm coming into his world now. He has to win this fight, or he's going to get no respect.
Q. I was going to say, do you find this kind of a no-lose situation? Even if you do lose the fight, he's got much more experience. If you just go in there and make a good showing, maybe people will have respect for you?
REYKON: He has to win. He's a boxer. If I were to bring him into my world and tell him, hey, let's do a song, he'd be clueless. He wouldn't know what to do. He wouldn't survive in that world.
JOE FOURNIER: I just want to say I'm the songbird of my generation.
REYKON: You can't even sing with a tune, man.
AL BERNSTEIN: It's getting personal out here. Let's go out for another question. Kevin, how are you?
Q. I'm good, Al. Thank you. My question would be for Reykon. Reykon, on the first Triller Fight Club card, NBA player Nate Robinson fought. He was not only a star in the NBA, but he was a great all-around athlete, and he didn't last a full round. I wonder, when you look at it, how you think you'll be able to do any better than he did given the fact you're fighting a guy that has a pro background and also has been training?
REYKON: You know, I've been training to survive. I'm going in there, and it's a fight. I can go in there, and I've been training to take the fight to him, to knock him out. Obviously, it's a fight he can come in and knock me out, but I can also go in and do the same to him. I can end up knocking him out.
I'm entering his world. I've already won. He can't do what I've done before. I'm coming into this fight mentally prepared. I have life experience, and I'm using that to carry me into this fight.
Q. Question for Joe. Two questions for you, Joe. Number one, do you feel like, when you look at this, Nate Robinson did not look very good in his fight, I know he tried, but it did not go very well. Do you think that there are any celebrities or non-boxers that could come into the boxing match and actually put on a decent performance? And then the second part is what do you think the way Triller is doing these fights, with the big-name musical acts and how well they're produced, what do you think that is going to do for traditional boxing? Do you think it will have an impact and create new fans for boxing which kind of needs new and younger fans?
JOE FOURNIER: First and foremost, I'm a businessman, and I think what Triller are doing is exceptional. They've come into the industry, and what I can kind of compare them to is the Uber to the old cab driver. They're taking it to a digital level, and they're creating entertainment, which ultimately, that's what boxing was about.
So for me, I think the kind of -- this matchup alone is interesting and intriguing enough. I still think he's crazy. I still think everything he said is ridiculous. I'm going to knock him out in under a minute, but let's just pretend for a second. You've got a world-class reggaeton artist fighting a No. 10 WBA, by the way, international champion. It's interesting. People want to see it and it's exciting.
I think the only person that's really shown from the entertainment world or kind of the YouTube world that can kind of fight a little bit is Jake. I've made no secret that's the fight I want next, but I'm sure he'll be watching this. It just goes to show, if someone gets their head down, trains hard, gets a good coach, anything can happen. I'm welcoming him trying to come in and knock me out because it's going to make for more fireworks.
REYKON: Try to do it. Try to knock me out in a minute.
JOE FOURNIER: As long as I get to visit Colombia after and not get kidnapped.
REYKON: You know, you're very confused about Colombia, but now because of your comment, maybe.
AL BERNSTEIN: We'll see how it plays out. We can see there's some conflict here. We have a remote question, do we not? Let's go to that now.
Q. (In Spanish)?
REYKON: I was like at first, you know, I asked the people who is this guy? Because I had no idea honestly who he was. I know that he likes the social media. He likes the social media attention, and for me this is a personal goal. I practiced soccer growing up, and I have the discipline of being in sports from that.
I know this is a hard sport, but I like it. I like this because it's got me disciplined and because I get to work and work real hard.
AL BERNSTEIN: All right. Let's go back to more from remote.
Q. (In Spanish)?
REYKON: How is it that they're already calling me champ? Look at that.
Colombia has always supported me since the beginning of my career. I know that they want me to win, and they've always showed me support. This whole thing is to show people that are struggling, especially young people, people that come from my country that are struggling that are young, that you could go to a challenge and go with it headfirst to show people that the people from my country have balls and that they can go and conquer challenges and do well.
JOE FOURNIER: I hope he comes in headfirst on the night.
Q. (In Spanish)?
REYKON: If I win, yeah, of course. But if I lose, they're not going to want to do this.
I think it does open up future possibilities, but this sport is very hard. It takes so much discipline that I've never had before in other endeavors.
Q. Hi, this question is for Reykon. Reykon, can you put into words how much of this is to grow your career as an artist and how much of it is to test yourself and what you can do just as a person?
REYKON: This isn't a challenge. He's the one that challenged me, remember that. I do this because I'm a man. My thing is music, obviously. My thing is music. That's my world, you know, but I'm a man, and I've got to go through with this as any man would do. The only thing I need to do is make good music.
AL BERNSTEIN: Let me ask my own question since we're going to get another one from our remote location, but have you heard anything today that makes you feel that Reykon's confident?
JOE FOURNIER: He just sounds afraid, to be honest with you, and that's really understandable because I wouldn't want to get punched by me either. I'm actually thinking of going into music after this because he's kind of challenging me to do that. I'm going to call Carol Jean and do a duet.
REYKON: You're not going to be able to do it, buddy. All you do is talk.
AL BERNSTEIN: Let's go back and get another remote question and see what they have to say from the hinterlands.
Q. Hey, Joe, what I've always found in my much -- obviously, at a much lower level than you, whenever I played football, I found that the hardest guys to play against were the guys who had no idea what they were doing, the guys who would just kick away at your legs. Obviously, that's kind of what you're expecting going into this fight. Is that the biggest concern for you, that this guy is going to be extremely unorthodox? He's going to be -- obviously, look, technically, he's probably going to be the worst guy who you've been in the ring with, but he's going to be difficult to fight maybe because of that?
JOE FOURNIER: You know, that's kind of how I got here today, being awkward and difficult with not much amateur background. So like I said, I'm taking it as a real fight. I'm training, and I'm sparring tough guys, and I'm trying to spar as many awkward, tough, tattooed type of people that think they're street fighters because I do expect him coming out, just out of nervousness, and throwing some serious bombs.
So, you're right, I am expecting something really unorthodox, and that does give him a danger. We're going to weigh in the same weight. We're two men, both in our 30s. So at the end of the day, it's a real fight. That's why we're here.
Yeah, it's going to be awkward for me. He's definitely not going to be coming out technically like a former Olympian. But like I said, he sounds confident, and in fairness, he does have the balls to sign the contract and get in the ring, which is more than I can say to a lot of people who sit on their sofa and pretend to want to know or do fighting.
So fair play to him. I do think he's had a few street fights, and I do think he's won them. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here today.
Q. Big Al, how you doing, man?
AL BERNSTEIN: I'm good.
Q. Question for Reykon. All due respect for you taking this assignment, stepping in, no BS, Fournier already said it, you deserve respect for that. As I'm listening to this, though, I really am wondering, have you been in at least street fights? Have you been in situations where you've hit someone and hurt them or you've been hit and hurt? Because there's the distinct possibility here that this guy who's had eight pro fights is going to crack pretty freakin' hard. Have you been in fights?
REYKON: I've taken beatings and gotten into fights my whole entire life, man. I come from a very rough hood where I grew up in Colombia, and in terms of you saying that he has boxing experience, who has he fought? Who are the guys that he's fought? He's fought taxi guys. Why do you think he's bringing in somebody like me here to go in and fight him? Because if he went ahead and fought real boxers, he wouldn't win.
JOE FOURNIER: That's going to hurt April 17th.
REYKON: You're going to have to keep fighting against music artists, man, because against boxers, you won't be able to win. Those eight victories were against nobodies. How do you think you got eight victories if you would have fought against real boxers?
JOE FOURNIER: When you're peeing blood for the next two weeks after April 17th, remember this day.
REYKON: Okay, okay.
AL BERNSTEIN: Well, I think we have one more question remotely. This will be the last one that we have for Joe and Reykon. Go ahead.
Q. You made it clear there that you said Jake Paul can fight. Obviously, he's taking on Ben Askren in the main event. You're looking to fight him next. He's obviously watching. It would be nice if you could get a little message across to him letting him know you want to fight. Any message for Jake?
JOE FOURNIER: Jake, at the end of the day, I heard you called me an old man. I'm 38, and I'm getting there, so take your chance whilst you can because, at the end of the day, we've had this conversation. I've put my money on the line. You got scared, and you turned it down. And now you're going against a guy with no boxing experience. If you really want to earn your stripes, step in the ring with me, and let's do this next.
AL BERNSTEIN: I appreciate you being here with us. We're all looking forward to April 17th, and good luck to you guys.
It is now my extreme pleasure to introduce to you and welcome in a gentleman who is a music icon, an actor, talk show host, business entrepreneur, and just generally an all-around cool guy. Please help me welcome Snoop Dogg?
SNOOP DOGG: Yabba dabba doo, guess what America, we love you. Al Bernstein, my main man.
AL BERNSTEIN: How are you?
SNOOP DOGG: What's up, top dog? How are doin' you today?
AL BERNSTEIN: It's good to see you. I'm happy to be here with you.
SNOOP DOGG: Come on, Al. You know I was out there watching. I said that sounds like my main man Al Bernstein out there. I had to get close to the camera to see if it was you or not or somebody impersonating your voice.
AL BERNSTEIN: This is great because you are, of course, the co-creator of all this, and I know you have a great passion for boxing, and I know that you feel like this endeavor is something that can invigorate the sport, right?
SNOOP DOGG: I think it gives boxing another way to perform because the traditional way of boxing, you just see the fighter come out, box, and then he leaves, but this is more of a production. You see great entertainment. You see great fights. You see great commentating. You see so many different things that keeps you engaged into this performance/fight, that it's like no other, and it just makes fighters feel like, if I do want to fight again or if I do want to fight, this is the perfect platform to fight on because it's so exciting and so entertaining throughout the whole night.
AL BERNSTEIN: The other thing about this -- and you've already had a taste of it -- is you become a boxing commentator, which is unique. I've seen you interview many boxers. Are you digging it? You enjoying it?
SNOOP DOGG: I'm loving it, Al. I'm going to be honest with you because, as a kid, I always idolized Muhammad Ali, and I loved Howard Cosell, the way they had their back-and-forth and the way their conversation was strong. I always wanted to be like that kind of guy, to be the one that the boxers trusted in, believed in, and had fun with, and can also clown around with the boxers too. You're just taking my Howard Cosell and a little bit of Ali and mixing it up and trying to do my thing.
AL BERNSTEIN: There you go, a role model. Now, on April 17th, in addition, of course, you are going to be performing, and you are going to create some music history with Mt. Westmore. Tell us about that, and that is very exciting.
SNOOP DOGG: Man, Mt. Westmore is a group formed by myself, E-40, Ice Cube, and Too Short. Four icons on the West Coast. We came together to put together a musical masterpiece. We'll be debuting our single that night as well as performing on stage that night. It's going to be a treat for those guys who really enjoy West Coast hip-hop and hip-hop in general. This is what we do, Mt. Westmore, baby.
AL BERNSTEIN: Now, I have been told from a source close to you that you have a special guest for us.
SNOOP DOGG: I got something real special up my sleeves. I don't come out for nothing. I got to come out for special events. This is going to be a special event. This fight club is going to be very special. But I got something super, super, super snooper duper special. So what I'd like to do is pop out a little special seasoning salt to this event. Where's my special guest?
I smell something golden.
AL BERNSTEIN: I know this guy.
SNOOP DOGG: You smell it?
AL BERNSTEIN: I have met this gentleman.
SNOOP DOGG: You know this man? This is my special guest right here, the Big O.
AL BERNSTEIN: The great Oscar De La Hoya. Oscar, how are you?
SNOOP DOGG: Golden Boy, you hear me? What's up, Oscar?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: I'm good. How are you?
SNOOP DOGG: What you in town for?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: I heard something was going down here.
SNOOP DOGG: I heard something going down too. You got great fighters. I've been watching you walk in the ring with your fighters. Your boy Ortiz had a great fight the other night.
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: Last fight, Vergil Ortiz.
SNOOP DOGG: That was a great fight. I feel like there's something missing, man. I keep seeing you in the ring, but I don't see you in the ring.
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: You're part owner of Triller Fight Club. Why don't you tell me?
SNOOP DOGG: I think you should tell them, man. It's you, not me.
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: July 3rd, I'm making my comeback.
(Applause.)
SNOOP DOGG: Oh, boy. You heard it here first, and he dropped the microphone. Only West Coast Ks can do that, you understand me? So with that being said, on the 3rd, he's back in the ring.
AL BERNSTEIN: Just to make sure everyone understood, Oscar said on July 3rd, he is making his comeback before that mic drop.
SNOOP DOGG: That means he's getting back in the ring, putting on some boxing gloves, and (singing).
AL BERNSTEIN: Now, you're a newsmaker as well. I can add that. I gave you that whole long list of accolades. Now I'm going to tell you you're a newsmaker as well. Look at that.
SNOOP DOGG: The No. 1 pay-per-view fighter of all time. I'm talking about the No. 1 pound for pound is back, baby, and he's getting it in with us on Fight Club on the 3rd. It's going to be off the hizzle fo' shizzle, baby.
AL BERNSTEIN: That gives us something exciting to look forward to, doesn't it?
SNOOP DOGG: In a real world, it does. Let's get back to the show. Where were we before we were interrupted with that great news?
AL BERNSTEIN: All right. Now we're going to -- are we getting any questions for Snoop Dogg here, or -- no. Luckily, I'm the one that got to ask you the questions. You are, I know, excited for April 17th. I'm excited. I can't wait. Around my house, my stock went up dramatically when I could tell my 21-year-old son that I'm announcing with Snoop Dogg.
SNOOP DOGG: My stock went up when I seen the interview with me and you and I seen your backdrop. Your backdrop, the way you put that in there. When we did the interview, it wasn't there, but when I seen it back, that was nice. It was like we was on some real, professional, topnotch interview, you understand me? So you put stripes on my resume to be able to hold a conversation with somebody as great as you that's been doing it for a long time. Like that means the world to me to be able to chop up game with you, Al. You understand what I'm saying?
AL BERNSTEIN: Well, I'm excited to be with you, that's for sure. Snoop, thank you very much. We appreciate you being out here. We can't wait for April 17th. And we are going to be coming right back. Stay with us.
SNOOP DOGG: Oh, you want to ask a question? Okay. We got some press in the house that want to holler at the D-o-double. We're going to give you action. We've got a couple questions.
Q. Can I ask, Al?
AL BERNSTEIN: I guess, go ahead.
Q. Snoop, I know you and Dana White are friends. Is Dana going to lose a million dollars because he bet that Jake Paul would not beat Ben Askren?
SNOOP DOGG: I don't know, Dana White need to be careful about that bet there because my boy Jake know how to swing them things. You get him fair and square, and he will find out. If he lose, Dana White does pay up. I can say that once upon a time, he and I made a bet, and he chased me down in the hotel to give me my money and make sure I got paid. So Dana is a man of his word.
Q. Snoop, I want to ask you a little bit, like I asked Joe before, I know you have a separate business and an idea for -- I know you did very well with the Tyson fight. How do you think what Triller is doing may impact regular boxing, people like Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions? Do you think that you can help bring their athletes up where they become bigger on their own platforms as opposed to just on Triller?
SNOOP DOGG: I think this is going to be a great option for fighters because a lot of times, if you notice, it takes a whole lot to get those two fighters to fight, no matter how it's set up. So, for example, if you've got this great champion, this great champion, and they're not fighting each other, what's the holdup?
Over here at Triller, if you want to fight somebody, you think you can get down, we're going to lock it up. We're going to make it official. You all can get popping. What I don't really understand about boxing, if you've got a champion over here that's undefeated and a champion over here that's undefeated, why are they not fighting? You make them dance around everybody else.
What we do is take whoever want to get cracking, you want to line it up, you want to get busy, you against him, no in betweens, none of that whole we've got to wait till the WBO whatever, just get at it. We get at what you're mad at with the option. You know what I'm saying? You want to really get down without all of that, come over here with us.
Q. I have one last question for you. Conor McGregor fought Floyd, and obviously that didn't go well for Conor. He's one of the great MMA fighters of all time, and that didn't go well in a boxing match. What makes you think that MMA fighters would be able to transition to fight -- I'm not saying to fight celebrities, but to fight actual boxers and do well given they've trained their whole lives in different disciplines?
SNOOP DOGG: If you know anything about the gym, a lot of those MMA fighters have to fight from their feet, standing up first. You've got to get a boxing technique about yourself. I just feel like most good fighters understand the environment they're in. If you're a good boxer, you're a good boxer. If you're a good MMA fighter, you're a good MMA fighter.
To me, I feel like somebody like Khabib or Skinny Bones Jones, they would be great boxers because they fight good from standing up. I think it's an advantage to whoever has the best boxing skills, whether you're in MMA or boxing, it's all about who has the best boxing skills that night and who's on top of their game and has the most stamina and endurance to last that fight.
AL BERNSTEIN: Thank you, Kevin. I was only kidding before when I threw to break. This time I'm serious. You're going to join us again when we get to our main event, snap. We are going to be coming back with more about our fight card and the excitement of April 17th.
(Video.)
AL BERNSTEIN: Welcome back. Now, in just a moment, we're going to be meeting Steve Cunningham and the former cruiserweight champion of the world, and Frank Mir, the former UFC heavyweight champion of the world.
Before we do that, we want to tell you a little bit about the venue that we're going to be at for April 17th. It's the Mercedes-Benz Stadium that will be the home for the inaugural Triller Fight Club. This is a world-class venue, of course. It's the home to the Atlanta Falcons. It's host to the Super Bowl and the College Football National Playoffs.
On April 17th, this will be the very first boxing event that will have been at that stadium at 9:00 p.m.
You can go to trillerfightclub.com, find out everything you need to know about this event, how to order it, and you can see lots of great features leading up to this fun event.
Our next fight is a blend of two world champions. We take a look at the matchup, and it is involving cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham, who was involved in some of the most exciting fights that boxing has had in the last couple decades.
He joins this promotion on short notice, replacing Antonio Tarver, but jumping into the fray. He will take on big Frank Mir, the UFC champion. He has the record for most submissions among a heavyweight. That's not going to do any good in this particular discipline, but he is a big tough man, and he's answering the call for his first boxing match.
I think we're ready to bring both those men on stage. Let's bring out Steve Cunningham and Frank Mir. Hi, Steve. Good to see you. Hi, Frank. How are you? Good to see you, man.
All right. So two great guys. I have the pleasure of knowing Steve real well, and I know a million people that know Frank, so I know he's a great guy. Steve, I'm going to start with you. You haven't fought since 2017. You didn't have a lot of time to prepare for this. You kind of jumped in. How has that process been for you?
STEVE CUNNINGHAM: For me, my process is pretty simple. I'm a champion, a two-time world champion. My thing is staying in the gym. I own a gym now, train other fighters, my sons, who are at the USA Boxing National Tournament right now, getting ready to rank back up.
I train a lot of fighters. I spar. I spar all the time. I'm always working out. That's always been my thing throughout my time as a fighter, fighting once a year under a certain promoter, staying active, going to training camp. I'm always in the gym.
AL BERNSTEIN: You look like you're in great shape.
STEVE CUNNINGHAM: I am, I am, that's the goal, to die in shape. I want to die 100 years old in shape.
AL BERNSTEIN: We'd like you to live a little while longer, though.
STEVE CUNNINGHAM: I'm with that.
AL BERNSTEIN: You, you're facing a bigger man, but then that's nothing new for you, among them Tyson Fury. You've faced big men before.
STEVE CUNNINGHAM: Yes, Natu Visinia -- everyone is bigger than me. Size in combat sport doesn't really matter, especially to a trained warrior. I'm beyond a trained warrior. I'm a trained champion, and I'm training others to be champions. His size is an advantage, but it's an advantage that we know how to get around, that we know how to work under, that we know how to work in, and perform.
AL BERNSTEIN: All right. We're going to see. Frank, I saw an interview in which you kind of explained this as a win-win situation for you. Explain that to the folks.
FRANK MIR: I mean, I'm making my debut in the boxing discipline, and I'm facing somebody who is a former champion. This is a fight that, as far as debut goes, this guy is going into boxing, it's probably the most difficult one that a lot of professionals -- obviously, I'm pulling off a professional career in MMA with the experience I've garnered there, but this is a whole new animal.
Going out there and being victorious is phenomenal, but also going out there and being proficient and having a good showing and making it representative of what martial arts is able to do in boxing is also a victory.
AL BERNSTEIN: You were mentioning, if you can do well, it speaks well for mixed martial artists.
FRANK MIR: Absolutely. Basically, this is a situation where I'm a decathlete, where I have to train all the different disciplines, from boxing, wrestling, jujitsu, Muay Thai, where now I'm basically a decathlete who's competing against a specialist, where I'm going to be in a sprinting event against a person who is a sprinting champion. It's definitely going to be a huge challenge.
AL BERNSTEIN: So Steve coming in as short notice, but you were preparing for Antonio Tarver, who is different than him. He's a left-hander, among other things. Did this change your approach to this fight at all?
FRANK MIR: There was a lot of changes. Antonio is more conservative in his punching. He doesn't show up in great shape to his fights. He has to be much more calculating, conservative, try to be more of a marksman. Steve is much more of a warrior who is physically in shape and mentally very tough. He very much brings the Philadelphia-type mindset where he's not going to slip and move away from punches. He shells up well, fires off right off the bat, phenomenal long jab from the outside. And he just has a lot of grit, a lot of heart, which in turn also sometimes has gotten him in trouble. You have someone like Tyson Fury, who says you're the hardest fight he's ever had, that's a statement in itself.
AL BERNSTEIN: You should actually, instead of fighting this fight, you should sit at ringside and analyze it.
FRANK MIR: I do that well too.
AL BERNSTEIN: You can take my job. We have, of course, press on hand here that are going to ask questions. Let's go out to a question.
Q. Frank, I know a lot of us were surprised when you made this announcement that a lot of you were going to be partaking, and you've got to change the opponent. Did that cause any hesitation at all? Was there any discussion? Hey, we were already taking a chance? Now it's more of a chance. Even more crazy. Hey, we should wait until another opportunity is around.
FRANK MIR: The one thing that didn't change is I knew it was going to be a challenge. It was something to bring out the best in me to give me something to face. I always tell people that. So many people want to improve their lives, do something, they're not happy with where they are. I tell them, hey, pick up a running event. Pick up a jiu jitsu competition. Do a fight, do something, put it on your calendar, and it gives you a reason to train, a reason to push yourself.
That adversity, that suffering makes you a better person. I saw that boxing match being one of them as an opportunity to push myself to the brink, and it absolutely changed things up.
Tarver, I saw somebody again -- again, I'm not taking away from Cunningham's boxing skills. I'm saying that Tarver relies more on being cunning and trying to win with the judges, landing a more consecutive shot, tying up, keeping the distance. You even watch their fight together, Cunningham was trying to make it a fight, and Tarver slowed it down and kept it very close so that way they eked out that split decision on the draw.
Cunningham is a much tougher guy. I'm not going to have as much of an advantage in age I thought I was going to have over Tarver. I knew that Tarver wasn't probably going to be in the same kind of shape that I was, and because I knew that, when it comes to boxing IQ, Cunningham is greater than I am, but Tarver is even more so. I knew that I couldn't be the smarter guy. For the first time in my career, I wasn't the more technical fighter. It's really inspired me to be in the gym pushing my physical prowess, knowing that, hey, I'm going to have to make this ugly. I'm going to have to beat them up and keep up the conditioning, that my size is an advantage because I can keep using it. If it becomes something where I get tired, now my size becomes a disadvantage.
When I found out it was Cunningham -- I had known who he was from the Tyson Fury fight, but then I started looking at his other bouts, and I realized this is a tougher fight.
Q. To a lot of fans, you're representing MMA. Do you welcome that? Are you kind of standing in this sport with the challenge? Or do you feel like, hey, guys, don't give me that label? I'm just going in here and taking a boxing fight?
FRANK MIR: No, absolutely. I love that challenge. I love that label. Look, there's no greater pressure in competing -- and I'm sure Al Cunningham can agree with this -- when you compete in front of your children. My daughter's in my corner. My sons are there at ringside watching. They watch me every morning when I get up before they do to go train and when I come home late at night and go to bed, and they're already laying there.
I live to try to be an example to them. I'm constantly trying to be an example to my wife so that when she sits there -- there's nobody that knows you better than your wife. Right? Sit there and go, okay, did you eat the right way today? Did you train hard enough? Did you take time off when you needed to? Because that was the smart thing to do. I'm constantly always putting pressure upon myself because that always helps me be better.
Any time in my life -- look, for my late 30s, I very much did that due to injuries and being beat up and hurt, my body was falling apart. I started giving myself -- does it really matter, who cares, I've done this and accomplished that. I took away that pressure and became a fat, middle-aged, dad bod that was very disgusting representation of a martial arts champion.
Going down and doing stem cell bio accelerator and doing everything I've done, from American shaman trying to fix my body up to be able to be in the gym and train. I'm happy to be a good example of what a warrior should be.
Q. What do you think you'll weigh on fight night?
FRANK MIR: 265, 270. I'm 275 now.
Q. I want to ask Steve. When you first heard of this match, you weren't a part of it, it was the Antonio fight. What did you think of that? Frank Mir, Antonio coming back? What did you think of it?
STEVE CUNNINGHAM: In actuality, I was happy. I was happy for Antonio Tarver. I didn't fight since our last night in 2017. I'm like wow. And it's an opportunity. It's like Triller, Jake Paul, all of this stuff has opened up doors for fighters to make money, to showcase the skills, to present themselves to the fans. I was actually ecstatic. I can see it. Hey, that's a good matchup. I like to see that.
So then I get the call, and it's like, yo, all right. I'll just step in. I'm always ready.
Q. What do you think of Frank? In mixed martial arts, Hall of Fame-type career, but this is a different sport. Is he completely out of his element, do you think, coming to this sport? Or do you think he's been successful at such a high level in mix the martial arts, he'll be successful?
STEVE CUNNINGHAM: Him competing at a high level in UFC as a champion, that in itself makes him prepared for our fight, for April 17th. That's the warrior in him. He's a warrior, period. That's just the line there, warrior. Once you pass that line, you have champion. He's a warrior and a champion.
So for anybody who thinks this is easy or old Cunningham's going to breeze through him, no, I don't think like that. In the words of my late trainer, brother Nazim, you take everybody serious. That's Tyson Fury right there. I'm about to fight Tyson Fury again. That's the mindset of going through in every fight. You buckle down like that, and you go to the gym, you train, you train hard, and you push. Even short notice, it's just a few notches, adjustments here, adjustments there, and we're ready.
Q. Last question for me. We talked about the size difference. What do you think you'll weigh on fight night?
STEVE CUNNINGHAM: 210 is the goal. I'm almost there. We'll make it and just go to work.
AL BERNSTEIN: Thank you very much. Now we're going to get some remote questions from around the globe. So let's go to them.
Q. I got a quick question for Frank. Frank, obviously, you've been fighting MMA for 20-plus years. You've been a former world champion. You've been pretty much everywhere the MMA world has been, Bellator, UFC. How has it been making that transition in terms of fighting, now making your pro boxing debut, against a guy like Steve Cunningham on short notice?
FRANK MIR: The best part was that, actually, because I was preparing for a bare knuckle fight, that gave me a lot of sparring in that realm, which helped me segue into this. On the outside, things are extremely similar between boxing and MMA, a little bit different stance and whatnot because of angle. We don't have to protect our lead leg as much.
The clinch is a little bit different, and honestly that's been the hardest part for me. There's a lot of things that I keep on accidentally doing. I've almost eliminated it completely, but holding the back of someone's head and driving an uppercut is very legal in MMA and legal in bare knuckle, and now I get my dad at the side of the ring screaming at me, stop punching with the clinch. So I'm working on it.
So there are some aspects in it that are just instinct to me. When I put wrestling shoes on or boxing shoes, I tend not to kick or knee. That's easy because I've sparred so many rounds boxing in preparation for MMA. I've never made that mistake. Again, the clinch is probably the hardest part because there's so many similarities between bare knuckle boxing and MMA, and that's what I was training for. Now the pure boxing rules and the clinch changes things.
Q. Can you just talk to me a little bit about when the thought of boxing competitively became a serious idea to you?
FRANK MIR: Well, it probably came back in the days when I first started training boxing very slowly to try to help me out with MMA when I was sparring with Marco Huck, and I thought, wow, this was exciting, and I like it. It's its own chess match in itself. The type of brain I have, I just really enjoyed it. I'm not -- I really love wrestling. My daughter and my kids are very good at it. My daughter's going up to Nationals. In fact, this weekend she's on a plane, multiple time state champion.
I'm an avid fan of wrestling. To me, wrestling gets boring. I'm much more into boxing as far as a thinking man's game and speed and ingenuity, and just much more to it because of the pain factor, testing a man's soul. Wrestling hurts your lungs, but there's just no sensation as getting hit by another man in front of you and knowing he's going to continue to do so, and you have to do something about it, and there's no one that's going to come to help you.
AL BERNSTEIN: Let's get our last remote question.
Q. Big Al, my friend Steve Cunningham. You and I worked together on FIGHTNIGHT LIVE near Philadelphia two weeks ago. How about that? What were we talking about? You were wanting another fight, and I said, what about those Triller people? It came to be. It came to fruition, huh?
STEVE CUNNINGHAM: Totally. You talked it up, Mike. You still there? Is Mike still there? You talked it up. We sat there. We were commentating some fights in Philly, got guys coming up from the amateurs, actually from the tournament that my sons are at right now, guys turned pro, and I got the opportunity to commentate again. I'm trying to keep my wheels spinning on that.
To do it with Mike is a pleasure because it's like yin and yang going on. Me and Mike have different views on certain things, even in the sport, but we come together to make the show great. But he was just saying, what about Triller? Me and my wife, who is my manager -- my gorgeous wife. She's around here somewhere. We were like, hey, we want to contact them. We want to get in touch.
A lot of people have been saying I've been retired. I'm like, I haven't retired. I still want to fight a few times before I retire and pass the torch to USS Junior and my son Cruz. But we get the call, and it's amazing.
AL BERNSTEIN: All right. I should identify the gentleman that asked the question, as did before, Colonel Bob Sheridan, Hall of Famer in the sport of boxing.
I want to thank both of you gentlemen for gracing this stage and for showing such great class, and we look forward to seeing you guys on April 17th.
FRANK MIR: Thank you.
STEVE CUNNINGHAM: Same here. Salute.
AL BERNSTEIN: Steve Cunningham, USS Cunningham. There you go. And Frank Mir. Frank, good to see you. Steve, take care.
Well, our next -- we're going to in a moment or two, we're going to talk about our next match coming up, which is a world champion -- former world champion Regis Prograis taking on Ivan Redkach.
But first, before we do that, you had a hint before, when we had Snoop on, about the great music that is going to be on the April 17th show. That is an integral part of the evening. Let's take a look at that and take a look at the musical lineup that you're going to see. It's a knockout.
Justin Bieber with his full band will be on hand. The Black Keys will be there. And as Snoop referenced, Mt. Westmore, a group that he put together with Ice Cube, Too Short, and E-40. They're going to be making their debut performance. So it's going to be musical history. Also, Doja Cat, Saweetie, and Diplo are going to be on hand. This is going to be an amazing night of music. It's kind of like stepping into a music festival. Every one of those acts are spectacular. We're looking forward to that.
Now let's get back to the boxing, and we'll continue on with our boxing card. The co-main event in the evening on April 17th will be Regis Prograis, who is a former 140-pound champion, who is undefeated -- was undefeated until he faced Josh Taylor and lost a very close decision to him. Other than that, has never lost a fight. Of course, the Taylor fight was a very close fight that arguably could have gone either way.
And the man he's taking on, Ivan Redkach, a contender in several weight divisions, this is his Super Bowl because a win here is vital to him to get back into a contending situation. He's just coming off a decision loss to Danny Garcia, one of the top fighters in the world. So let's bring them out to the stage now, Regis Prograis and Ivan Redkach.
Gentlemen, how are you? It's been my great honor to broadcast fights, both of these great fighters. I'm thrilled I'm going to have a chance to announce their fight on April 17th. Let me turn to Regis first.
You, in your last fight, beat Juan Heraldez and knocked him out. You were one of the first to knock him out. You found a way to reach a lot of people and market yourself to get back to another world title shot. Is that a fair statement?
REGIS PROGRAIS: Very, very fair statement. I'm thankful for this opportunity. With the Jake Paul stuff, it's a whole different market. I'm glad to be a part of this stuff, and I'm happy. I just want to go out there and show the world, like I am the best at 140. I'm going to keep saying it, keep saying it. I just want to -- one thing about me is I say it, but I'm going to keep proving it. I'm happy. I'm very excited about this fight. I can't wait.
AL BERNSTEIN: When you were on my show, we talked about how you appreciated the whole concept of this event of the musical part, and you kind of at one point wanted to be a part of this, and so now you are.
REGIS PROGRAIS: Yeah, man. I think the first one, if I'm not mistaken, was Mike Tyson and Roy Jones. I talked to Roy. Roy is a friend of mine. I was at my house in New Orleans watching, and Jake Paul knocked out Nate Robinson.
Listen, like I was telling you on your show, I have a street team in New Orleans. They've been trying to do something like this a long time ago where it's an event. You don't just have boxing as just regular boxing. Now you have a whole event going around. You have all these performers, and it's like an event. Just like I was telling you, sometimes only certain fighters, you have a real event. You have a Floyd Mayweather, a Manny Pacquiao, Canelo Alvarez, maybe Anthony Joshua over there. When they fight, it's an event.
Now when you have -- you're bringing all this stuff into it, all the artists, all the music, all the musical talent, 24 is turning into an event. I think boxing then needed something like this to happen. I'm glad to be a part of this.
AL BERNSTEIN: Very well put. That's a very good point. We're going to turn to Ivan. Anya will translate as we talk to Ivan. Nice to see you again.
You went the distance with Danny Garcia, and you couldn't quite get the job done. You have had a great career except the big moments that you've gotten against major fighters. It hasn't quite worked out. What do you have to do to make that happen?
IVAN REDKACH: I'll be honest with you. I got the last fight only three weeks before I had to fight, so I didn't have enough time to prepare. We understood it's not an excuse anyway, but at this time, I had the full eight weeks of camp, and I'm so much prepared.
AL BERNSTEIN: So you'll be well prepared. This fight is interesting because we have two left handers going at it. You, Regis, I know, have sparred before. You guys are aware of each other. Two left handers, it's different, isn't it?
IVAN REDKACH: You know, we sparred together, and it was a great sparring. Regis knows better than anybody else that it was a good sparring. I left him a little bit bleeding. But we'll see. April 17.
AL BERNSTEIN: Well, for sure. And of course as with every fight before this we have questions from the audience.
Q. Regis, there was a question out to Frank Mir before. You're kind of representing the MMA fans. You're probably the best fighter that's fought on this in terms of active fighters. Do you feel like you're carrying the flag for boxing fans, like you have to -- for people who may be watching because they're fans of musical artists or maybe they want to see how the MMA fighters do; do you want to put on a statement of how good boxing can be at the highest level?
REGIS PROGRAIS: Of course, of course. Every time I fight, I'm always looking to give a spectacular performance. So with this show, even more. So I'm definitely, you know, I want to represent boxing well and myself well and give a spectacular performance.
Q. One of the things that Trevor has done so far, they haven't had a matchup where two top guys are meeting. Now we are going to have Lopez versus Kambosos. Do you think you'll see other boxers try this and try to say, hey, let's go to fight at Triller Fight Club, and whatever that would do to your popularity with other audiences that maybe don't know you now?
REGIS PROGRAIS: Yeah, I definitely think a lot of fighters are going to try to do this. I keep telling people I'm glad I got the call. I'm pretty sure Ivan is glad he got the call too, because this is a huge platform. And to pay us all this money, of course, yeah, I think a lot of other fighters, they're going to be trying to reach out. Man, I want to go fight on Triller, I want to go fight on Triller, because it's an event. Just like I keep saying, it's going to be a whole event. And it's different from a regular boxing show that sometimes it can be boring if it's not-- I am not saying it can be boring, but if it's not a mainstream fighter a lot of people won't tune in. But with this, it's a whole event. So a lot of people is going to be tuned in. Just like I said, I want to give a spectacular performance.
Q. Regis, I know you're a boxing historian and you follow the history of the sport closely. There's some hardcore boxing fans who don't like this, the hybrid fights, the musical artists fighting, NBA players fighting. And so they think maybe you're kind of bastardizing yourself by doing this. How do you respond to them that fans of your style, why are you doing something like this?
REGIS PROGRAIS: I'm not worried about that, man. I'm worried about my fight. That's the thing I'm fighting a real fighter. That's what I know, I'm fighting a real fighter. And then you've got to look at -- you can't look at the negative. You have to look at the positive.
So what I'm -- the positive for me is that you know you have Jake Paul that's coming in, but he has a whole -- he has a whole ton of just a whole different world out there. Popularity and famous is different these days.
I was at the fight with his brother in LA, in May, it was kids there. You talk about 10-, 11-, 12-, 13-, 14-, 15-year-old kids. Not with their parents. They was all at the fight.
If you could have somebody that's going to bring those type of fans and with the old-school boxing fans, I mean, it's a win-win.
I think it's a win-win. And then, just like you said, after we're coming in getting these fights in, then I think more people, more real fighters, like, not saying real fighters, not disrespecting anybody, but more boxers, MMA fighters, they're going to try to come in, try to be part of Triller, too, because, like I keep saying, it's going to be an event, not just a regular boxing match or a regular MMA fight. It's going to be a whole event. So I think it's a good thing.
Q. My last question, to pick on your boxing expertise, would be this: I saw BJ Flores on the way in. Obviously he's training Jake. And he said Jake is going to look spectacular. But he's biased. You're a guy that knows what you're looking at. I know you said you watched Jake fight against Nate Robinson. Nate, it was a little difficult for him. But did you see anything in Jake in that fight that tells you that he actually could box?
REGIS PROGRAIS: I mean, I don't know. I don't know. I can't -- I can't really say that, because he fought -- he fought the first fight he fought another YouTuber. On the second fight, he laid out Nate Robinson.
So he'll have, of course, he'll have a long way to go to get with actual boxers. But, man, these dudes are putting in the work just like we are. So you never know. From what I'm hearing, they're all putting in the work just like we are. You never know what's going to go on.
Q. Regis, a question for you. I know a lot of boxers that I talk to, they don't like to play second fiddle as far as being on the undercard or a cofeature. How do you feel about that, considering you fought Josh Taylor in a sold-out '02 arena as a world champion and now you have to be a cofeature to a YouTuber. How do you feel about that?
REGIS PROGRAIS: I'm not worried about it at all. I don't care about that stuff. I know I have to go out there, look spectacular and take care of business.
Jake Paul is -- obviously he's very, very popular. So I'm not worried about being an undercarder or nothing like that. It has no concern to me at all.
Q. Regis, obviously you've spoken highly of Triller there. How much of a threat do you think there will be to the mainstream boxing? In MMA we see one sort of company run the whole show pretty much, mainstream-wise, UFC. But in boxing we don't have that. We have multiple organizations, multiple promotions. How much do you think Triller will have an effect on the whole boxing world?
REGIS PROGRAIS: I think Triller will be coming in strong. You've got this going on. And for what I seen, they're doing the Teofilo fight and Kambosos. I think they're coming in strong. I don't know how much of a threat they'll be, but for right now looks like they're going to be one of the top people in the sport.
AL BERNSTEIN: Thank you, gentlemen. In a moment or two in a little bit we'll be talking with Jake Paul and Ben Askren for our main event. But first we want tell you about a couple of important promotional events connected with the April 17th card. First of all, if you are an essential worker and a singer you can audition to perform the National Anthem at the first Triller Fight Club card.
Now, the winner will be selected by audition videos posted on trillerfightclub.com using the Anthem hashtag, TFCAnthem is the hashtag. You can put the hashtag TFCAnthem on it.
Submit your audition, and you could in fact be the person doing the National Anthem at the April 17th event. That's available to all essential workers and we thank all of you for your great work.
Now, in addition we should tell you about another important promotion. There's only one way to attend this event. And that can only be done with a golden ticket. There will be golden ticket winners that will be allowed to be at the event.
How do you win a golden ticket? Well, you post a video on Trillerfightclub.com explaining exactly why you deserve to be there. The hashtag is TFCPICKME. TFCPICKME.
And you'll also need to comment on 30 Triller videos over a three-day period. And the winners will be flown with a guest to Atlanta and all expenses paid, and it will be a terrific trip, if you're one of the winners of the golden ticket.
So we want you to do that. And for that information and everything involved in this promotion, you can go to trillerfightclub.com and find out everything including how you order this event.
Up next we're going to delve into our main event, the match between Jake Paul and Ben Askren. And needless to say, Jake has not been shy in talking about this fight on social media and elsewhere. And Ben Askren has done a great job on his own end in the verbal department. Let's hear from both of them.
[Video]
AL BERNSTEIN: All right. If Jake could come out of his shell, we'd be okay. Fun setup for this match. And it puts it on the table: Jake Paul in his third boxing match taking on former MMA champ Ben Askren. Can't wait to invite them out on the stage. With no further ado, Jake and Ben, come on out. How are you?
JAKE PAUL: Doing good. Thanks, everybody, for coming out.
AL BERNSTEIN: Hi, Ben. You've set the table for this pretty well with that video and with what you've been doing beforehand.
And, Jake, I'll start with you, you kind of indicated at the end of the day, your boxing skills, you feel, are better and that ultimately that's the difference.
JAKE PAUL: 100 percent. This guy striking is that of a grandma, quite literally. If I put a grandma in against Jorge Masvidal, she would have lasted longer than this guy.
You know, he's a good athlete, they say. But April 17th he's going to get exposed. We saw Steve Cunningham earlier going against Frank Mir. And it's a boxer versus an MMA guy. I love Frank Mir; but at the end of the day, Steve is going to take care of business and lay down in the night. The same thing is going to happen.
This is boxing versus MMA. And you're going to see the difference. You're going to see a difference of a wanna-be fighter, a guy who choked in the Olympics, a guy who choked in the UFC, and now a guy who is going to choke against Jake Paul.
I'm going to end this guy's career. This is an embarrassment. Masvidal did it once. I'm about to do it again.
AL BERNSTEIN: All of that having been said, Ben, you indicate that the difference is not about the skill, it's about the toughness.
BEN ASKREN: Absolutely. So I've heard of Jake Paul prior to accepting this fight. But I couldn't have told you a lot about him or his brother. I knew he kind of came up in his brother's shadow. He's trying to fill his brother's footsteps. His brother is a lot more talented, larger following, those types --
JAKE PAUL: You literally went on your Instagram and asked people for roasts. You asked people for roasts on Instagram. That was the top comment was to say that his brother is better than him. Is he? That's like calling Kylie Jenner Kendall Jenner.
BEN ASKREN: I don't know anything about them.
JAKE PAUL: Anyway, doesn't matter. It's still a compliment. I would love to be Logan. Logan is a great kid. Both stars, both taking over the world at a young age.
BEN ASKREN: Okay. When Logan's brother called me out --
JAKE PAUL: You actually called me out. Let's get the facts straight. You called me out the week of the Nate Robinson fight. So continue.
BEN ASKREN: Okay. So when Logan's little brother called me out a week after the Nate Robinson fight, I said, sure, more than happy to. I like to fight, been fighting for a long time. Never boxing. But I've done wrestling, mixed martial arts, jiu-jitsu.
I thought, well, from his angle what's he doing. I asked some of my kids in my academy, what's this guy all about. They said, he's a bully. He's a dick.
So I'm thinking, he's thinking who is the easiest guy that I can pick that will give some validity to my name. Hmm, I'm going to pick the guy who just had a surgery, who is retired --
JAKE PAUL: If I wanted to pick the easiest guy, I would have picked Dillon Danis. Signed a contract. You actually had the balls to sign the contract. If I wanted the easiest guy, I would have picked Dillon.
BEN ASKREN: Jake, you picked Dillon. We know that. I already went over that. You picked Dillon, I know. He wouldn't do it.
JAKE PAUL: You just said I picked you.
BEN ASKREN: Because Dillon wouldn't say yes, dumb dumb.
JAKE PAUL: Choking on your words, Bubba?
BEN ASKREN: You picked Dillon. Dillon wouldn't sign the contract. Therefore you can't fight Dillon. You had to pick the next person. Allow me to continue.
JAKE PAUL: You said if I wanted the easiest person it would have been Dillon. But you said I picked you as the person.
BEN ASKREN: Because Dillon wouldn't sign a contract.
JAKE PAUL: [Pretend choking].
BEN ASKREN: I'm trying to wait for you to stop talking. Anyway, this is typical bully behavior but obviously sometimes --
JAKE PAUL: This is the fucking fight game. This is the fucking fight game, you pussy ass bitch. This is the fucking fight game.
Yeah, I'll bully you around, just like I'll bully you in the ring. Shut the fuck up. You sound like a middle-schooler. Oh, he's bullying me. Shut the fuck up.
BEN ASKREN: I was talking to your mentality. You're not going to bully me. That's not going to happen. And you know, like, Jake, if you and I ran into each other in a back alley in Las Vegas and --
JAKE PAUL: Do it right now then. Do it right now. We're running into each other right now. Come on.
BEN ASKREN: You've got 27 people.
JAKE PAUL: That's what I thought.
BEN ASKREN: Yeah, okay. Anyway, I would do a homicide on you if I wanted to.
JAKE PAUL: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
AL BERNSTEIN: All right. There you are. I guess that sets the table pretty well. Let's go to questions from the press on hand.
JAKE PAUL: Right in your face, you didn't do shit.
Q. Jake, I'd ask you to clarify, why did you pick Ben? No disrespect to Ben, but I think he's the last guy we ever thought would --
JAKE PAUL: I already laid it out to you. Actually, here's what happened. After my Nate Robinson fight, there was probably 70 people calling me out, wanting to fight me.
There's probably six people that it made sense to fight -- Bisbing, McGregor, Diaz, Danis, Askren, some YouTubers who were popular.
But I wanted to fight a real MMA fighter. When it came to signing a contract, a lot of them didn't want to do it. And, by the way, this is me coming to them with the biggest payday of their lives.
This is Ben's biggest payday of his life. He's publicly said that. So when it came down to signing the contract, he was actually down.
So that's how it happened. And this fight makes sense. This fight makes sense in a lot of ways. And there's a large majority of people who think he's going to win. And then there's others -- there's the other half who know I'm going to win.
Q. Ben, when this first got announced, seemed like a fun exhibition, something for you to stay busy after your MMA career. Where does it stand right now? Obviously some pretty personal words and a lot of people looking at you kind of representative of the sport of MMA as well. Where does this stand? You've been an athlete your whole life, competing at the highest level. Is this a serious competition to you or a fun exhibition?
BEN ASKREN: I'm going to take it serious. But highest level of competition, no, not even close. I'm going to have fun with this. That's what I came forward for. Jake thinks he's a high-level boxer. I think he's fairly delusional. I guess we'll find out.
JAKE PAUL: You will find out very quickly and in a violent fashion. And you will embarrass the sport of MMA. You are representing the UFC. This is personal, the whole MMA community --
BEN ASKREN: You're trying to make me represent the sport of MMA.
JAKE PAUL: You are representing the sport. Dana White is betting money on you. He's trying to get trainers to actually help you train so that you can beat me. So you are representing the sport of MMA. You are an MMA fighter.
Just like I'm representing the sport of boxing because I'm a boxer, just like I'm representing celebrities and YouTubers, because I'm a celebrity and YouTuber. So I'm representing all of those things. So you are representing them. And you will see boxing conquer.
Q. Quick question, if you get through Ben Askren, do you think that's the key to getting the attention of Dana White and getting a Conor McGregor fight, or who would be next on your list if you get through Ben Askren?
JAKE PAUL: Oh, my God, good to see you. I don't have to do anything to get the attention of these guys. They have to get the attention of me at this point. And they're talking about me more than I'm talking about them.
So he's one of the first fighters on the list, first MMA fighter that will be taken down. I think this will make the Jake Paul versus Conor McGregor fight that will happen one day more intriguing of course. There's Diaz after this. There's tons of people calling me out. Celebrities still, athletes.
So we'll see what happens. But, yeah, this fight will give me a lot of credibility. Ben's 19-2, has less losses than McGregor. Two-time NCAA Division I champ. Olympic wrestler. Yeah, he's a real fighter. And that's why I wanted to do this fight, is to show the world like this real fighter is getting with Jake Paul and he's going to get KOed in two rounds.
Q. Ben, on the other side of the coin, if you get through Jake Paul, what's next in your boxing career? Do you go for the big brother, Logan Paul?
BEN ASKREN: Yeah. 2021 seems like a tremendous year to beat up the whole Paul family.
JAKE PAUL: That was your first good joke for the press conference. I know you're really excited about that one. Do you smoke cigarettes, or are your teeth just yellow?
BEN ASKREN: I'll write your material, if you want me to.
JAKE PAUL: English please?
BEN ASKREN: If you want me to write your jokes, I can do them for you.
JAKE PAUL: If I want you to write my jokes -- this guy is talking about my intelligence. Okay. Goddamn it. Embarrassing.
Q. Jake, the last fight you stole the show with a second-round knockout over Nate Robinson. What improvement can fans expect to see in your game going into this fight?
JAKE PAUL: Legend right there. You know, lots of improvements. I'm a completely different fighter.
The fighter that I am now would knock out the fighter in the Nate Robinson fight that is Jake Paul. So I'm completely different.
People really will see. I really haven't gotten to show my boxing ability in my last two fights because they've been seven minutes total.
I'm actually excited to see if Ben will give me a little bit of test, little bit of challenge, because people will see, oh, shit, this kid can do that. Oh, he has this in his arsenal; he's working on that. I haven't even shown the world what I can do. That's why this is fun. I have the ace up my sleeve. When you have the ace up your sleeve --
BEN ASKREN: I was wondering, your cheerleaders that you brought to my room, like, do you pay them as coaches or groupies, or do you just give them sloppy seconds in social media shadows?
JAKE PAUL: I give them a ton of dry, over-the-pants hand-jobs. Maybe say your joke again and we can all remember to laugh. Say it one more time, we can just all laugh afterwards so you feel good about yourself. Say it one more time for us, please. No? Look at the caca on this guy.
Q. Jake, you spoke about the improvement you make every single every fight. What can you attribute those improvements to, your work ethic, working with your team, what do you attribute it to?
JAKE PAUL: All of the above. We're working so hard. Just a true passion for the sport. I love what I'm doing. I have such a chip on my shoulder. The whole world wants to see Jake Paul lose this fight. And I love that. I love that so much.
And, yes, we have the best team. BJ Flores, Jacob Chaves, Dika on the strength and conditioning. Carl, J'Leon Love, John Marinek and Marcos, all these guys. I'm probably forgetting names. Even on the shadow, Lucas Mack, all these guys, E-bot. We have the best team, Blue Gus, content (phonetics). On down. Best managers. Best advisors. Best lawyers. Best trainers. Best photographers.
That's why I'm where I'm at as a 24-year-old, because I'm surrounded by greatness. Look, we all have a lot to prove to the world. And I'm 24 years old.
This is the biggest stage of my life. The last event was the eighth biggest Pay-Per-View event in history. This one is going to be even bigger.
Justin Bieber. Snoop Dogg. You can't argue. Are you kidding me. Do you think for one moment I'm going to sit there and fumble this?
You think for one moment I'm not going to work my bloody balls off to beat this bum, this Walmart-looking-head-ass Napoleon Dynamite motherfucker? No. You've got to be kidding me.
Yeah, I'm excited for this. I have a chip on my shoulder. And I'm going to prove to the world April 17th trillerfightclub.com. Buy it now.
I'm going to prove to the world that Jake Paul is the real deal. That's why I called out Conor McGregor initially. This is the road to McGregor at the end of the day.
Q. Jake, you referred to Dana's million-dollar bet. How do you felt about that? Where were you when you heard about it, and did you you have a chance to talk to him?
JAKE PAUL: I think it's great. Dana White doesn't talk about really anything besides the UFC. So it goes to show how big of an event this is. And again, he is one of the many bird-brained people out there who don't understand that Jake Paul is a real fighter, and he's going to lose a million dollars.
And I challenged him along with Snoop Dogg to step it up, make it $2 million, put your money where your mouth is. A million dollars isn't that much to Dana White. I'm so confident in my abilities, and it's free promos. Thank you, Dana.
Q. Considering Ben's combat sports background, are you expecting a quantum leap in the level of competition you've faced thus far?
JAKE PAUL: No. I think he'll be easier to beat than Nate Robinson.
Q. Based on what you've seen of Jake in the ring so far, have you seen an amount of talent there that you consider him talented as a boxer?
BEN ASKREN: It's hard to say. His opponents are so bad that he could have pretty much done anything he wanted to and won the fight. So I think TBD.
Q. Jake, I was impressed with especially your power against Nate Robinson. It strikes me that maybe you are a guy who was born with it. I saw you backing up and cracking the guy. Now, I don't know how that's going to work on Askren who is a seasoned fight professional, but it led me to be thinking how into this are you? Do you have sort of a long-term plan, all right, I'm going to do this a year, two years, five years? Are you now a boxing lifer? What's that end game? How long do you want to do this, and where do you want to get to in boxing?
JAKE PAUL: Great question. Definitely a boxing lifer. I'm addicted to this sport, and I will become the biggest prize fighter in boxing. Simple as that. Thank you for the compliment. I have a ton of power. I didn't really even get to utilize it against Nate. He went down, and I only landed eight punches. He was knocked down three times. If that gives you any indication.
And, man, when I put those 10 oz. gloves on, those Grant gloves -- shout out to Grant, best gloves in the game -- whoo. I love to crack, baby. And you know what's crazy? I love to get hit too. I just love fighting in general.
And again, this is the start of a burgeoning career, a burgeoning, amazing career. And I'm addicted to the sport. I love the sport. I want to bring more eyeballs to it. I love everything to do with it. I could see myself coaching my son one day.
BEN ASKREN: Someone is going to let you have kids?
JAKE PAUL: You got two laughs. Two laughs.
BEN ASKREN: Thank you.
Q. Jake, celebrity boxing isn't anything new, but it's certainly enjoying the moment. What do you think it is about yourself that's made it successful?
JAKE PAUL: It's your dad calling in. Look.
PHONE CALLER: That dude's still alive?
JAKE PAUL: He's still alive, bro. I'm about to take him out.
PHONE CALLER: I like those flip-flop things.
JAKE PAUL: He's still alive. Don't worry, I'm going to finish him off. Don't worry.
PHONE CALLER: Tell him I like his flip-flops.
JAKE PAUL: He said he likes your flip-flops. That's my guy, maker of Ben Askren. Jake Paul will be the finisher of Ben Askren.
Does that bother you, by the way, that you got knocked out in five seconds?
BEN ASKREN: Nah, it happens.
JAKE PAUL: It doesn't bother you?
BEN ASKREN: Not really.
JAKE PAUL: It doesn't really happen, by the way. That's only happened once.
BEN ASKREN: Record.
JAKE PAUL: You literally have the record. You hold the record.
BEN ASKREN: Yes.
JAKE PAUL: Five seconds.
BEN ASKREN: Yeah.
JAKE PAUL: Doesn't it haunt you at all, the most embarrassing fighter in UFC history?
BEN ASKREN: I know you have low self-esteem, but you don't need to project it onto me.
JAKE PAUL: This doesn't bother you?
(Playing video.)
BEN ASKREN: I've only seen it like a million times. Doesn't bother me.
JAKE PAUL: Doesn't bother you? Are you sure?
BEN ASKREN: Sure. I don't think you're allowed to use knees in boxing.
JAKE PAUL: I'm going to knock you out. Same thing.
Q. Jake, celebrity boxing isn't anything new, but it's certainly enjoying the moment. What do you think it is about yourself that you've had so much success, because let's be honest, not everybody brings in as much attention when they try to do this?
JAKE PAUL: Yeah, I'm a bit confused when people talk about celebrity boxing, because there's no such thing as celebrity boxing. I'm the only celebrity that's boxing. So people like to write articles about it, and I'm like I'm the only one doing it. So doesn't really make sense to me.
But really at the end of the day, this isn't celebrity boxing. I am a celebrity who is boxing, but I'm a real fighter. I've shown that. I'm 3-0, three KOs, 2-0 as a professional with two KOs. I'm the only celebrity or influencer that's fought in the past two years. So I'm really the only one doing it. So...
BEN ASKREN: Logan doesn't count or what?
JAKE PAUL: Hasn't fought in two years if you paid attention to what I said. Logan is great. He's a celebrity, he's boxing. But at the end of the day, again, Logan is a real fighter who would whoop on a lot of guys.
BEN ASKREN: Who is better, you or him, at boxing?
JAKE PAUL: Me. Hands down. That's why I'm 3-0, three KOs. He's O one and one.
BEN ASKREN: Did he whoop your ass when you were a little brother? That's a question, Jake.
JAKE PAUL: I just don't care about your questions.
BEN ASKREN: Okay. So I'll take that as he rubbed your face in the carpet on a weekly basis.
JAKE PAUL: Yeah, sure, Ben, hahahaha. Hahahaha.
Q. Ben, you've been in big fights before, UFC Pay-Per-Views and won championships. How has the reception been for you for this fight? I'm assuming you're getting messages from a whole other fan base. What has it been like?
BEN ASKREN: Yeah, it's interesting. Like I said earlier, I didn't really -- I knew of Jake and Logan when I took the fight, but I didn't know a whole lot about Logan or his little brother.
And, you know, one of the things I can't believe is in MMA I was the heel, I was not liked that much. But Jake said in the prefight thing that it was 50 people wanted him to win, 50 people wanted him to lose. I was shocked because it's got to be like 90-10.
JAKE PAUL: (Pretend snoring.)
BEN ASKREN: Pretty amazing how many people don't like you. I find it impressive your ability to be disliked.
JAKE PAUL: (Pretend snoring.)
That was a compliment.
Q. Jake, you started with Deji, and now you're with Ben, and you also had Nate. I wanted to ask you, are you at this point bigger than the JJ fight? Is there any interest in still fighting KSI, or have you outgrown him and you're just over that?
JAKE PAUL: Definitely outgrown him. There's interest. I think that's a fight that everyone wants to see, but at this point it just wouldn't even be close. And I think once he sees what I do to Ben, he's going to -- he's not going to want to fight. And even his coaches say. They're like, yeah, we're not letting KSI fight this kid right now. His coaches know. His coaches know what will happen. KSI is ducking. And at the end of the day, it's like there's a lot bigger fights out there than JJ. So...
Q. Jake, it applies to Ben as well, when you look at your three fights, you were very fortunate when you fought Deji and when you fought Nate, the main event guys were willing to carry the slack with you, because your opponents really weren't in terms of the promotion of the fight. They were very quiet. Deji doesn't have much of a mainstream appeal, and Nate opted to be quiet and try to portray themselves as not -- we'll give Gib the credit. He pushed that fight. Do you appreciate that Ben is willing to do the work to promote the fight unlike maybe any of your opponents before? And, Ben, are you enjoying that aspect of it?
JAKE PAUL: I do actually appreciate it. And a part of me likes Ben, a part of me thinks he's funny. I'll give you that. Even his wife. I was saying it, her posts and stuff on Instagram, she's funny. So I give him credit. Yeah, I think this fight has the most amount of hype going into it. He actually is putting out content and making some noise and talking some shit. So I do give credit to Ben there. And that's part of the reason we picked him; we knew there would be shit-talk going into it.
BEN ASKREN: One of the things I appreciated about him earlier, I said it -- and you know his brother, too, like they have somehow convinced their fans that they're real fighters. It's tremendous. It takes an act, it takes a show. He's done that. He says pulling the fire truck, eating rice and chicken and shit like that. I'm in this for life. That's tremendous. Appreciate that, Jake. Suck a dick.
Q. Jake, what do you have to say to all the professional fighters out there that don't like your quick success in combat sport without any substantial previous experience?
JAKE PAUL: Haters will be haters. When there's a new young buck in the game coming up and ruffling feathers they'll be upset. I'm trying to bring more eyeballs to the sport. I'm having fun doing it. I'm just doing me. There's room for everyone to eat. Gary V. once said you can build your skyscraper in New York as high as you want without tumbling over someone else's skyscraper. Why are people mad I'm successful? Build up your own skyscraper. And there's room for everyone to eat in this sport, trust me.
Q. Ben, saw in your Instagram the little scuffle between you and Jake before the press conference. Can you fill me in on that. On a scale of 1 to 10, how intimidated were you when Jake came in and flicked that tissue over your shoulder?
BEN ASKREN: I think it was a mask, not a tissue. But, yeah, like a 1 to 1.1, somewhere in there. Again, if Jake and I met in an alley, I would do a homicide if I wanted to. No big deal.
I was most impressed by the fact that Jake, as a 24-year-old, is able to convince a whole team of grown men to do a cheer with him. That was tremendous.
JAKE PAUL: It's called a team, a family, something that you don't have. Seems like you don't have really friends. And we're all in this together, and this means a lot to us. This means a lot to everyone. This is a part of history. Everyone on my team is part of history. And we're a brotherhood and, quite literally, a bunch of 20-year-olds taking over the world. Sit down, stupid.
BEN ASKREN: I hope you do some more cheers on the way there.
AL BERNSTEIN: We know it's going to be serious on April 17th.
JAKE PAUL: Go Bayside!
AL BERNSTEIN: We appreciate you being here.
JAKE PAUL: Two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate? Ben, Ben, Ben. Goddamn.
AL BERNSTEIN: There you go. Thank you both for being here. We're looking forward to April 17th. Should be a lot of fun.
JAKE PAUL: Thank you, Al.
AL BERNSTEIN: Take care. Ben, Jake, we'll see you on April 17th.
JAKE PAUL: I'll be there.
JAKE PAUL: 22! 22! 22 (cheering)!
AL BERNSTEIN: As they exit the stage, earlier in this press conference we had a bit of news making by Oscar De La Hoya. Let's take a look back at it now.
(Video playing.)
AL BERNSTEIN: Mic drop. And we will see Oscar De La Hoya back in the ring, apparently, pretty soon. But I know one thing, on April 17th we're going to see an exciting event of both entertainment and boxing, and we're going to be looking forward to it.
A reminder to you that to find out anything you need to know about this event, go to trillerfightclub.com. It's going to provide you with information, video, and the way you can order this fight as well.
And we also want to acknowledge our partners, In Demand, telco providers, and FITE, the platform that will be handling the worldwide live streaming. So thanks to everybody that participated today. Thank you to you for watching, and we will see you on April 17th.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports