Rahman Jr’s fight with Jake Paul called off due to weight problems

Jake Paul’s scheduled fight with Hasim Rahman Jr., which was supposed to take place on August 6 in Madison Garden, was called off on Saturday night, according to a statement from Showtime Sports and Most Valuable Promotions.

The shocking news was revealed after Rahman Jr. indicated having weight issues prior to the scheduled match. Despite never having a battle below 211.75 pounds since turning pro in 2017, Rahman Jr., a natural heavyweight, is anticipated to compete at the 200-pound limit.

Previously, Rahman Jr. agreed to compete at 200 pounds on July 6, according to the MVP statement, and he has shown proof of his weight to both MVP and the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), indicating that he wouldn’t lose more than 10 percent of that weight before the fight.

As a result of this issue, Rahman Jr. is required to submit to weekly checks that are carried out by the New York State Athletic Commission, according to Boxing Scene.

However, Rahman Jr. made the offer to weigh 215 pounds at the official weigh-in, and he anticipated Paul would accept the terms. He was equally prepared to leave the battle if Paul objected.

MVP says Rahman Jr. was ‘disrespectful’

It is known that the MVP made the decision to call off the bout because they thought Rahman Jr.’s choice was quite disrespectful.

“MVP and Jake Paul will not reward someone that has conducted themselves in such a deceiving and calculated manner. Therefore, MVP is left with no choice but to cancel the Aug. 6 event,” said MVP’s representative.

The cancellation of the event, according to MVP, has an effect on other fighters who have worked so hard over the previous few months to prepare for it.

“This forced outcome impacts Jake Paul, Amanda Serrano and every other fighter on this card who have trained tirelessly over the past few months for this event.”

As a result, MVP thinks that Rahman Jr. should be held accountable by the boxing community for his lack of professionalism because a lot of time, money, effort, and resources were invested in creating the event.

Rahman said in an Instagram video that his body “simply would not let me do it” in order to sign the contract for 200 pounds.

He wondered why Paul’s team opted to call off the competition instead of giving Rahman Jr. more time to adjust his weight as he is also eagerly expecting the $5,000 prize that would be awarded at the conclusion of the contest.

Rahman Jr. said that he faced Paul in a battle in 2020 and that Paul recognized him as the winner of that session.

“If you beat me up while I was 230, what’s the problem fighting me at 215?” Rahman said. “What’s the problem fighting me at 210? It’s clearly them not wanting to fight. It’s not me pulling out of the fight,” said Rahman Jr. in a statement.

Paul was initially scheduled to compete against Tommy Fury on the same day. Paul, however, would not be able to have the fight as planned since Fury couldn’t enter the United States from England due to a visa issue.