Pete Davidson Delivers Raw Take on Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren Fight, Drags Charli D’Amelio

Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson is spending his free Saturday night at Mercedez-Benz [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson is spending his free Saturday night at Mercedez-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, where YouTube star Jake Paul is fighting former MMA fighter Ben Askren. Before the inaugural Triller Fight Club event began on Fite TV, Davidson starred in a "report," in which he made fun of the very event he was at. He also included a little joke at the expense of another YouTube star, Charli D'Amelio.

"You can tell how professional the event is by having me here," Davidson said before leading the camera to Paul's dressing room, "or locker room, if you want to call it that." Davidson said Saturday was a "crazy day for boxing" because it showed "how truly low" the sport has sunk. "I think today proves the fact that if you have enough followers, you can truly f—ing do whatever you want," Davidson said. "I mean, maybe PewDiePie will cure cancer and Charli D'Amelio will become a surgeon. Who knows?" Davidson later said that both Paul and Askren "suck" and "someone is going to get hurt."

In another segment, Davidson continued laying on the jokes, telling Paul he reminded him of Charlie Sheen during his "winning" period. One of Davidson's joke questions was completely censored, but Paul's answer was audible. "You can't joke about that," Paul said. Davidson tried to turn down the temperature by asking about his favorite color and a robot Paul has. It's hard to tell what question Davidson asked since he was off-camera, but it's possible he brought up one of the many controversies surrounding Paul, including sexual assault allegations.

This is Paul's third professional boxing match, but he has only fought opponents from outside the boing world. He first fought fellow YouTuber AnEsonGib, and Paul won with TKO. In November 2020, he fought former NBA player Nate Robinson, who Paul knocked out in the second round. Askren is a professional fighter, but not in boxing. He won his first 19 MMA fights and later joined the UFC. He retired after two consecutive losses and needed a hip replacement, notes CBS Sports.

Davidson was hired to join the broadcast team in March, alongside Snoop Dogg, D'Amelio, Dixie, Mario Lopez, and model Taylor Hill. The play-by-play announcers are Ray Flores, Al Bernstein, and Mike Coppinger. Paul is reportedly making $690,000 for the fight, while Askren's pay is $500,000.

Even though Paul has not faced a true professional boxer yet, he claims his goal is to be one of the best boxers in the world. Some professional boxers are skeptical. "They're making a mockery of boxing, OK?" boxer Claressa Shields recently told TMZ. "I just say that because there are so many fighters who deserve to be on that platform under Mike Tyson and Roy Jones that did not get that opportunity. ... Jake Paul is making his money, he's doing his thing. But stay away from us real fighters."

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