By: Sean Crose
The April 17’th Triller Fight Club card featuring Jake Paul and Ben Askren has found a home – Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. “Mercedes-Benz Stadium will continue to be the place where sports and entertainment’s biggest events are held, and we welcome Triller Fight Club for this special event,” said AMB Sports and Entertainment honcho Tim Zulawski. “We look forward to showcasing our stadium to the global audience that Ryan and his team are building, and are proud to be a part of this historic night of boxing and entertainment.”
A press release states that “there will be no public sale of tickets for the event. A very limited number of fans and guests will be selected to join in the live event, with details to be announced in the coming weeks, and everything will be subject to stringent local, state and federal protocols due to COVID 19.” Those who wish to view the fight via television will be able to so through iNDemand. Those who wish to view the fight via livestream will ne able to do so through the platform called FITE. The suggested cost for the live card will be roughly fifty American dollars. The press release also makes clear that “Triller Fight Club is a partnership between Triller and Snoop Dogg and is spearheaded by Ryan Kavanaugh.”
Not many had heard of Triller until Mike Tyson decided to engage in a November exhibition bout against Roy Jones. That entire card was an enormous success, so enormous it was said to be the biggest combat sport pay per view event of 2020. Considering both Tyson and Jones were in their fifties at the time, it’s little wonder Triller is interested in continuing down the novelty fight card for a reasonable price route. As was made clear during the Tyson-Jones card, Triller knows how to put on an entertaining show.
As for April’s main attraction, social media star Paul has, surprisingly, taken to boxing. Yet he’s also big on absorbing lots of attention and money, which is why – serious though he may be – the guy has taken to fighting those who aren’t professional boxers. Still, Paul isn’t without talent. What’s more, Askren is a former UFC attraction, so it’s not like Paul is stepping in there with a novice fighter. It’s admittedly an intriguing, if not exactly high level, matchup. There’s also little doubt that Triller will bring the same high energy broadcast vibe to April’s outing as it did to the Tyson-Jones card.