Just one week out from the fight, Jake Paul’s scheduled bout against Hasim Rahman Jr. has been canceled due to Rahman Jr. having serious issues with his weight cut.
The New York State Athletic Commission forced Rahman Jr., who normally fights at heavyweight, to submit regular weight checks to ensure he was cutting weight safely after the 31-year-old was given just one month to prepare.
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But according to Rahman Jr.’s promoter Greg Cohen, he was struggling badly with the weight cut and was sitting at 214 pounds just one week out from the bout.
It forced a complete cancellation of the event and prompted a strongly-worded statement from Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions.
“On Friday, Rahman submitted a weight check to the NYSAC that demonstrated he had lost less than 1 pound since originally signing to take the fight 24 days prior,” the statement read.
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“This prompted the commission to declare that it would not sanction the fight at less than 205 lbs. Still, Jake Paul was prepared to move forward with the fight at this new weight and a new contract was sent to Rahman’s promoter reflecting a 205 lbs. limit, impose strict penalties should he fail to make weight.
“Upon receiving this new contract Saturday morning, Rahman’s camp indicated for the very first time that he planned to weigh 215 lbs. at the official weigh-in and would not agree to weigh-in at 205 pounds and informing Most Valuable Promotions that they are pulling out of the fight unless the fight was agreed to at 215 pounds.
“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 August 6th event.
“This forced outcome impacts Jake Paul, Amanda Serrano and every other fighter on this card who have trained endlessly over the past few months for this event. The boxing community must hold Hasim Rahman Jr. liable for his lack of professionalism.”
Rahman Jr. stepped in on one month’s notice as Paul’s fight against Tommy Fury collapsed for the second time.
Fury, the younger brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, first withdrew due to broken ribs and a chest infection in December last year and then pulled out in July because of visa issues trying to get into the US.
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