YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul has lashed out at Hasim Rahman Jr following their fight cancellation over weight issues, branding his opponent “scared” and “unprofessional”.
The news that Jake Paul’s bout versus Hasim Rahman Jr was canceled dropped late on July 30 and stunned fans across the internet community.
It was already a hastily reorganized fight after British boxer Tommy Fury pulled out because of issues entering the USA.
Now, Haism Rahman Jr’s failure to make sufficient weight losses has prompted a cancellation in the fight, just days ahead of the scheduled date of August 6.
Jake Paul slams “scared” Hasim Rahman Jr
It appears that Paul was caught as off guard as the rest of us, describing himself as “devastated” in a series of videos responding to the cancelation.
In the videos, posted to Twitter early on July 31, Paul explained that Rahman initially agreed to fight at a body weight of 200lbs. Initial weigh ins put the boxer at 216lbs but, when weighed at the commission’s request three weeks later, he had lost just 1lb and came in at 215lbs.
As a result, Rahman’s representatives asked to up the weight limit for the fight to 205lbs, which Paul agreed. However, further failures to lose weight on Rahman’s side resulted in a last minute request to fight at 215lbs, which Paul rejected out of hand.
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“Whatever, I know I can still beat his a** at 205lbs,” Paul said. “And that was that. We moved forwards. And then today out of nowhere his team called and said Hasim’s not going lower than 215lbs. If the fight’s not at 215lbs then we’re pulling out. My manager goes “f**k you guys”… this is clearly an excuse.”
(2/2) pic.twitter.com/9Op38RKMm3
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) July 31, 2022
Paul went on to criticize Rahman for being “scared” and “unprofessional”, claiming that from the off he had doubts about whether his opponent really wanted the fight.
He concluded: “The biggest pay day of his life times ten and he’s fumbling it. For what? Because he knows he’s gonna get knocked out by me. The pressure starts to set in and it’s exactly what happens with all of these guys. Same sh*t with Tommy Fury, I’m sick of it. I’m devastated.”
Refunds have already been confirmed to everyone who bought tickets and preordered the fight’s PPV.
Who Jake Paul will fight next thus remains a mystery but, with cancelations taking the headlines once again, anticipation to see him in the ring will only build.