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Jake Paul and his boxing ambitions have again been thwarted, and the trouble does not come from inside the squared circle. Paul, who was set to square off against Hasim Rahman Junior, finds himself without an opponent as Rahman has announced that he won’t be fighting at Madison Square Garden on August 6.
The issue is a complicated one, with both parties blaming each other for the bout cancelation. While initially both signed to fight at 200 pounds, Rahman faced issues to get down to the weight in time.
'Gold Blooded' hasn’t fought below a bodyweight of 211 pounds in over 5 years. Boxing Scene reported that the New York State Athletic Commission kept tabs on the natural heavyweight each week so that he could safely cut weight.
In a video that Rahman released on his social media, he explained that he was unable to go any lower than 215 pounds.
The 31-year-old said:
“I signed a contract to make 205 pounds but I couldn’t do it. My body simply would not let me do it.”
Rahman further claimed that he still wanted the fight despite getting penalized for not making weight. He stated:
“I told this man keep the purse, I’ll fight you for the $5,000 minimum. That’s how much it means to me and that’s how much faith I have in knocking him out.”
Jake Paul alleges unprofessional behaviour from Hasim Rahman Jr. and team
Addressing the whole weight issue and the subsequent fight cancelation, Jake Paul released a video of his own. Paul claimed:
“Another case of a professional fighter scared to fight me. These guys have been so unprofessional to work with, looking for any excuse to suck more money out of the event and coerce us into doing things. From the jump, I knew it in my heart that this guy didn’t want to get in the ring with me.”
The video is shown below:
Jake Paul said that Rahman moved the fight from 200 to 205 pounds earlier, to which he agreed. Then, Rahman’s team called again and said that the boxer cannot go lower than 215 pounds. He further added that his team threatened to pull out if the fight-weight wasn’t renegotiated to 215 pounds.
Following this, Paul said that his manager shut down the fight. He fights at 190 pounds typically, so 215 would have been quite a stretch for him.
Rahman, on the other hand, claims full confidence in himself to knock out the 'The Problem Child.' Cutting weight is a gruelling process, and Rahman alleged that Paul just wants him completely drained so that the YouTuber-turned-boxer would stand a chance.
He laughed at Jake Paul's claims of beating him up in sparring and challenged him to do the same in the ring. Rahman taunted:
“If you already beat me up when I was 230, what’s the problem in fighting when I am 215? It’s clearly them not wanting to fight.”
With accusations flying back-and-forth, it's hard to get at the truth. But one thing stands out: Rahman Jr. should not have committed to fighting at a weight he wasn't sure he could make. It was a poorly managed business, at best.
