Burroughs, Askren exchange barbs and share respect prior to Beat the Streets Main Event on Monday night
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Jordan Burroughs and Ben Askren face off before their Beat the Streets battle. Photo by Justin Hoch.
VIDEO: Beat the Streets Press Conference
Ben Askren was in the first Beat the Streets Gala competition a decade ago on the U.S.S. Intrepid, when Mike Novogratz and his team had the vision to host an elite wrestling event outside in an iconic location in New York City to raise money for youth wrestling.
Jordan Burroughs, after blasting his way onto the international scene back in 2007, has competed in more Beat the Streets competitions than anyone who will wrestle on Monday night, each time with a victory.
Olympians in the same weight class, Askren competed for Team USA in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China and Burroughs competed in the 2012 Olympics in London, England and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Monday night, they will compete in the Main Event of the 10th Beat the Streets event at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden.
The press conference on Sunday allowed them to talk some trash, have some fun, and explain exactly why they will put their reputations on the line in order to raise funds to support young people.
Askren had the first chance to explain why he agreed to wrestle Jordan Burroughs and wrestle in another Beat the Streets competition.
“It’s pretty simple. I got a text message when I was coaching a wrestling tournament in Iowa that said, ‘Do you want to wrestle Jordan Burroughs?’ Damn skippy I do. Then they tried to say something crazy like, make 74 kg, I don’t know about that, but the answer is yes. We got it worked out the next couple of days. When you get to wrestle someone of the caliber of that and we both know how good he is, it is a must-take opportunity. I talk all the time to the kids that I coach about taking on challenges. Challenges doesn’t mean you say yes when you know you will kick their butt. Challenges mean you say yes, no matter what.”
“I am excited to compete. I love Beat the Streets. I love New York City. I love challenges. I am going to try to put some heat on Jordan tomorrow,” he said.
When it was time to answer questions, the first one did not come from the media. It came from Jordan Burroughs, who was sitting in the back of the room.
“How are you going to go back and coach your club after what I am going to do to you?”
Askren laughed, smiled and didn’t hesitate.
“That’s an easy one. That’s simple. All my club has ever seen me do is win. I haven’t lost. I had a kid who had a great disappointment one time, and he said, ‘you don’t know what I am feeling.’ I opened the club in 2011. I haven’t lost an MMA fight. I haven’t competed in wrestling since 2010. Life isn’t all about winning. Life is sometimes about taking a butt-whooping. You get in there, and you fight him as hard as you can fight him. If you don’t come out on top, that’s fine. You step in there and do it again. Eventually, you get really good at it. Who knows? Maybe I have a few tricks under my sleeve,” he said.
It was Jordan Burroughs time to explain his reason for this year’s battle against Ben Askren.
It is always good to be back here. This is my ninth year at the Beat the Streets event. Specifically, my reason behind being here is always about what we get to do in terms of fundraising for youth in the inner city. I have done things not only for Beat the Streets New York, Beat the Streets LA, Beat the Streets Philadelphia and Beat the Streets Baltimore because there are a lot of individuals within these programs that look a lot like me.”
“They come from these urban areas that have an environment and a system where they grow up in, in which people don’t thrive. They don’t go to school for free. They don’t go to Div. I programs and get full scholarships and get to travel the world. I am the living embodiment for a lot of youth that are brown in the entire country. They get the opportunity to get out of the streets, out of the hoods and the environments where they are in and get to the next level of their lives. It’s pretty awesome when I can be that representative for that culture,” he said.
Burroughs then talked about his opponent, with a friendship and respect.
“I am excited to wrestle Ben. I am a huge fan of Ben’s, a fan of yours a long period of time. He made the transition over to MMA as I was kind of arriving into my freestyle career. Maybe he knew the writing was on the wall, right? There was a young stud from Nebraska who was going to make a run at him. It will be an amazing matchup tomorrow night, The banter on twitter has been amazing. Let’s keep it up, bro,” said Burroughs.
The last question for Burroughs came from 2018 World champion J’den Cox, who asked Jordan if he would fight Ben next, after the wrestling match had finished.
“I have had to deal with a lot on Twitter. MMA fans are crazy. With all due respect to MMA fans, just because you don’t fight, doesn’t mean you are not tough. They are going ‘Oh, you are talking crap to Ben. Why don’t you step in the Octagon?’ I chose to be a wrestler by profession, by trade, not because I am afraid to fight. I appreciate MMA fans, and thank you for bringing the non-traditional fans over to the wrestling arena and getting a collaborative effort. People have to respect wrestlers because of all we are doing in MMA. No. I am not going to fight Ben. I am not, to be absolutely honest to you. I think tomorrow will be fun. I am taking this match seriously, and I have been training hard,” he said.
The house will be full. Fans can enjoy the action live on FloWrestling. The first match begins at 6:30 p.m.
BEAT THE STREETS GRAPPLE AT THE GARDEN
Hulu Theater, Madison Square Garden, New York City
Monday, May 6
Bout Order
122 lbs. (girls) - Elleny Seda vs. Valentina Bailon,
138 lbs. (boys) - Jo Jo Aragona vs. Adam Busiello,
Men’s freestyle - 57 kg - Nick Picininni vs. Jack Mueller,
Women’s freestyle – 62 kg - Mallory Velte vs. Linda Morais
Men’s freestyle – 70 kg - James Green vs. Anthony Ashnault
Men’s freestyle – 97 kg - Kyle Snyder vs. Nishan Randhawa (CAN)
Men’s freestyle – 125 kg - Nick Gwiazdowski vs. Derek White
Women’s freestyle – 57 kg - Becka Leathers vs. Diana Weicker
Men’s freestyle – 61 kg - Nick Suriano vs. Joe Colon
Men’s freestyle – 86 kg - David Taylor vs. Drew Foster
Men’s freestyle – 92 kg - J'den Cox vs. Patrick Brucki
Men’s freestyle – 65 kg - Yianni Diakomihalis vs. Bajrang Punia (IND)
Men’s freestyle – 74 kg - Jordan Burroughs vs Ben Askren
VIDEO: Beat the Streets Press Conference
Ben Askren was in the first Beat the Streets Gala competition a decade ago on the U.S.S. Intrepid, when Mike Novogratz and his team had the vision to host an elite wrestling event outside in an iconic location in New York City to raise money for youth wrestling.
Jordan Burroughs, after blasting his way onto the international scene back in 2007, has competed in more Beat the Streets competitions than anyone who will wrestle on Monday night, each time with a victory.
Olympians in the same weight class, Askren competed for Team USA in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China and Burroughs competed in the 2012 Olympics in London, England and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Monday night, they will compete in the Main Event of the 10th Beat the Streets event at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden.
The press conference on Sunday allowed them to talk some trash, have some fun, and explain exactly why they will put their reputations on the line in order to raise funds to support young people.
Askren had the first chance to explain why he agreed to wrestle Jordan Burroughs and wrestle in another Beat the Streets competition.
“It’s pretty simple. I got a text message when I was coaching a wrestling tournament in Iowa that said, ‘Do you want to wrestle Jordan Burroughs?’ Damn skippy I do. Then they tried to say something crazy like, make 74 kg, I don’t know about that, but the answer is yes. We got it worked out the next couple of days. When you get to wrestle someone of the caliber of that and we both know how good he is, it is a must-take opportunity. I talk all the time to the kids that I coach about taking on challenges. Challenges doesn’t mean you say yes when you know you will kick their butt. Challenges mean you say yes, no matter what.”
“I am excited to compete. I love Beat the Streets. I love New York City. I love challenges. I am going to try to put some heat on Jordan tomorrow,” he said.
When it was time to answer questions, the first one did not come from the media. It came from Jordan Burroughs, who was sitting in the back of the room.
“How are you going to go back and coach your club after what I am going to do to you?”
Askren laughed, smiled and didn’t hesitate.
“That’s an easy one. That’s simple. All my club has ever seen me do is win. I haven’t lost. I had a kid who had a great disappointment one time, and he said, ‘you don’t know what I am feeling.’ I opened the club in 2011. I haven’t lost an MMA fight. I haven’t competed in wrestling since 2010. Life isn’t all about winning. Life is sometimes about taking a butt-whooping. You get in there, and you fight him as hard as you can fight him. If you don’t come out on top, that’s fine. You step in there and do it again. Eventually, you get really good at it. Who knows? Maybe I have a few tricks under my sleeve,” he said.
It was Jordan Burroughs time to explain his reason for this year’s battle against Ben Askren.
It is always good to be back here. This is my ninth year at the Beat the Streets event. Specifically, my reason behind being here is always about what we get to do in terms of fundraising for youth in the inner city. I have done things not only for Beat the Streets New York, Beat the Streets LA, Beat the Streets Philadelphia and Beat the Streets Baltimore because there are a lot of individuals within these programs that look a lot like me.”
“They come from these urban areas that have an environment and a system where they grow up in, in which people don’t thrive. They don’t go to school for free. They don’t go to Div. I programs and get full scholarships and get to travel the world. I am the living embodiment for a lot of youth that are brown in the entire country. They get the opportunity to get out of the streets, out of the hoods and the environments where they are in and get to the next level of their lives. It’s pretty awesome when I can be that representative for that culture,” he said.
Burroughs then talked about his opponent, with a friendship and respect.
“I am excited to wrestle Ben. I am a huge fan of Ben’s, a fan of yours a long period of time. He made the transition over to MMA as I was kind of arriving into my freestyle career. Maybe he knew the writing was on the wall, right? There was a young stud from Nebraska who was going to make a run at him. It will be an amazing matchup tomorrow night, The banter on twitter has been amazing. Let’s keep it up, bro,” said Burroughs.
The last question for Burroughs came from 2018 World champion J’den Cox, who asked Jordan if he would fight Ben next, after the wrestling match had finished.
“I have had to deal with a lot on Twitter. MMA fans are crazy. With all due respect to MMA fans, just because you don’t fight, doesn’t mean you are not tough. They are going ‘Oh, you are talking crap to Ben. Why don’t you step in the Octagon?’ I chose to be a wrestler by profession, by trade, not because I am afraid to fight. I appreciate MMA fans, and thank you for bringing the non-traditional fans over to the wrestling arena and getting a collaborative effort. People have to respect wrestlers because of all we are doing in MMA. No. I am not going to fight Ben. I am not, to be absolutely honest to you. I think tomorrow will be fun. I am taking this match seriously, and I have been training hard,” he said.
The house will be full. Fans can enjoy the action live on FloWrestling. The first match begins at 6:30 p.m.
BEAT THE STREETS GRAPPLE AT THE GARDEN
Hulu Theater, Madison Square Garden, New York City
Monday, May 6
Bout Order
122 lbs. (girls) - Elleny Seda vs. Valentina Bailon,
138 lbs. (boys) - Jo Jo Aragona vs. Adam Busiello,
Men’s freestyle - 57 kg - Nick Picininni vs. Jack Mueller,
Women’s freestyle – 62 kg - Mallory Velte vs. Linda Morais
Men’s freestyle – 70 kg - James Green vs. Anthony Ashnault
Men’s freestyle – 97 kg - Kyle Snyder vs. Nishan Randhawa (CAN)
Men’s freestyle – 125 kg - Nick Gwiazdowski vs. Derek White
Women’s freestyle – 57 kg - Becka Leathers vs. Diana Weicker
Men’s freestyle – 61 kg - Nick Suriano vs. Joe Colon
Men’s freestyle – 86 kg - David Taylor vs. Drew Foster
Men’s freestyle – 92 kg - J'den Cox vs. Patrick Brucki
Men’s freestyle – 65 kg - Yianni Diakomihalis vs. Bajrang Punia (IND)
Men’s freestyle – 74 kg - Jordan Burroughs vs Ben Askren
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