Hasim Rahman Jr. is urging YouTube boxer Jake Paul to “put the gloves on” and continue their match after it was suddenly canceled due to weight issues for the two fighters.
Jake Paul has been struggling to secure an opponent for his next boxing match, which was initially slated for August 6, 2022 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
At first, Paul seemed set to take on British boxing rival Tommy Fury — but last-minute travel difficulties prevented Fury from entering the United States, putting their bout on hold.
Luckily, Jake was able to secure a replacement in time, settling for pro boxer Hasim Rahman Jr. It seemed as though this would be Paul’s biggest challenge yet… but these hopes were dashed less than a week out from fight night.
On July 30, Paul’s promotional company revealed that the match had been officially canceled due to Rahman Jr. allegedly having issues making weight. The company claimed they’d been informed that Rahman Jr. had intended to weigh in at 215 lbs, instead of the planned 205 lbs for the Cruiserweight division.
First Tommy Fumbled and now Hasim Rahman Crumbled. These boxers are the most difficult people to work with and continually lack professionalism and confidence to fight me. I apologize to all of the of the other fighters on the card, our partners, our team and the fans. https://t.co/0q6MxqG3XJ
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) July 31, 2022
“These boxers are the most difficult people to work with and continually lack professionalism and confidence to fight me,” Jake said of the ordeal.
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Now, Rahman Jr. is hitting back at Jake’s claims and is urging him to move forward with their fight, saying he could have made weight in time.
In an interview with TMZ, Rahman Jr. accused Paul of “pulling strings” and said he’s lost “a tremendous amount of respect” for the YouTube star — who he says attempted to “blackball” him from the boxing industry.
“Stop being scared, Jake,” the boxer said. “We got a lot of people out there watching us. We got a lot of people out there that look up to you. A lot of people out there who look up to me.”
“Stop being scared. Be a man. Put the gloves on. Stop being scared, it’s that simple. You get in a fight with a real fighter, man. Get in there, get your a** whooped, and then go back to YouTube.”
Sadly, with the fight officially canceled, it doesn’t look like Jake Paul has any plans of entertaining a rescheduled bout against Rahman Jr. — at least in the foreseeable future.