Jake Paul to fight UFC star Ben Askren in third professional boxing match

The YouTube personality will don the gloves for his third pro bout on 17 April

Jake Paul will fight UFC star Ben Askren in his next professional boxing match, it has been confirmed.

The YouTube personality will don the gloves for his third pro bout on 17 April against his fellow American.

It will be an eight-round contest with a venue yet to be decided.

Paul vowed to “knock him out faster than [Jorge] Masvidal did”, in confirming the matchup on his social media accounts.

"I know Jake Paul is enjoying pretending he is a fighter," Askren told ESPN. "I think on April 17 he is going to have a rude awakening to what being a fighter is really like. 

"Jake has led a privileged life and doesn't really know what the meaning of being a fighter is. I'm going to put his dreams to an end."

Paul is undefeated in the professional ranks after beating fellow YouTuber AnEsonGib by knockout last January before defeating former NBA player Nate Robinson, again inside the distance, on the undercard of the Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr card back in November.

Askren is still under contract with the UFC but is expected to be given permission to leave to pursue this fight.