Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren Undercard Predictions: Frank Mir vs Steve Cunningham

Before Jake Paul and Ben Askren go out to shoot punches at each other, April 17 will see one more clash between a former UFC star and a boxer in Frank Mir vs Steve Cunningham. Although Cunningham is clearly not in the same bracket as Paul, yet he has been successful in bringing a martial artist inside the boxing ring.

41-year-old Frank ‘Mirburger’ Mir will make his debut against former champion Cunningham in an eight rounds heavyweight bout. That said, it might bring a large payday for Mir. However, he can also suffer terrific consequences in-ring.

Mir is one of the most reputed names in the MMA world and has several fighting accolades to boast. But the retired martial artist/wrestler might struggle against an ex-world champion boxer in a boxing bout.

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Jake Paul vs Ben Askren undercard: ‘Mirburger’ vs ‘USS’

Mir, being a natural heavyweight, will clearly enjoy some advantage in size. He shares a similar height of 6’3” with Cunningham. However, the vet martial artist will relish a 3” advantage in reach. So he can capitalize on those chances. However, looking at his career graph, a boxing debut at this age might not be a credible idea.

Once a lethal heavyweight, Mir (19-13 in MMA) departed UFC in 2016 after losing back-to-back against Andrei Arlovski and Mark Hunt. He entered Bellator but lost the first three fights before winning against Roy Nelson via UD in 2019. Now with 0 rounds of experience in professional boxing, he will go against Cunningham who has participated in 298 rounds as a pro.

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Philadelphia native Cunningham won a world championship in the cruiserweight division and is a reputed hard-hitter. He is 29-2-1 as a professional boxer with 13 KOs and the IBF belt under his name. So, he will use all the advantages of his corner to outwork Mir.

‘USS’ Cunningham remained undefeated for the first six years since his debut in the pro circuit. While he continued putting wins on his resume, they were added with seven losses later in his career.

In 2017, Cunningham fought his last pro battle against Andrew Tabiti and retired after losing a unanimous decision. It’s hard to picture him lose in the upcoming fight. However, boxing is unpredictable and given that, Mir will have his chances to win.

Prediction: Steve Cunningham beats Frank Mir via Knockout (third round)

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