Jake Paul Youtuber to fight replacement Hasim Rahman Jr. at MSG after withdrawal of Tommy Fury
Jake Paul to fight replacement Hasim Rahman Jr.
Following the withdrawal of Tommy Fury, Jake Paul now has a new opponent for his boxing battle at Madison Square Garden next month.
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| Source - DAZN |
Hasim Rahman Jr., the son of the same-named former boxing heavyweight champion, will replace Fury and fight Paul on Aug. 6 in New York, Paul confirmed to ESPN on Thursday. Rahman, from Baltimore, is a pro boxer who is 12-1 with six knockouts. The eight-round fight will be held at 200 pounds and will air on Showtime PPV.
Rahman, a 31-year-old heavyweight, is hardly a household name, but he has more boxing experience and is bigger than Paul (5-0). However, Paul, the YouTube star-turned-prizefighter, stated that he had already resolved to fight a professional boxer in his next fight after receiving criticism for only facing older MMA fighters or athletes from other sports. Rahman, Paul believes, will be a far more difficult opponent than Fury.
"I'm literally insane," Paul admitted. "There's no reason for me to take this fight...." I want to show the boxing world that I am a genuine dog, which I am. And I'm going to go in there against this 12-1 kid who is larger, faster, and stronger than Tommy Fury. And I'm going to put on a show of a lifetime and just shut everyone up."
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Fury has withdrawn from his scheduled fight with Paul on August 6.
Marc Raimondi, 23h
Nakisa Bidarian, the founder of BAVAFA Sports and Paul's business partner, told ESPN that he encouraged Paul not to take the fight with Rahman because it was high-risk, low-reward, and on short notice. Logan, Paul's brother, also advised him not to take the fight. Bidarian stated that Amanda Serrano, the women's boxing titleholder and part of the Aug. 6 double main event alongside Paul, told him that the card should simply be rescheduled.
Rahman will be by far the most difficult test of Paul's brief career. Previous Paul fights, such as those with former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, former MMA champion and Olympian Ben Askren, and retired NBA veteran Nate Robinson, did not have the same pay-per-view and ticket-sale cachet.
"I don't see the utility of doing the fight at this point, given all of Jake's other opportunities," said Bidarian, who co-founded Most Valuable Promotions with Paul. "He can prove himself against a 6-0 or 5-0 boxer who is only there to enhance their record in order to lose to someone like Jake." That wasn't what he wanted; he wanted to fully test himself. His coaching staff and he feel they can defeat Hasim Rahman Jr. They are confident that they can defeat Hasim Rahman Jr."
Rahman has fought at 269 pounds and 224 pounds in his most recent fight, a TKO loss to James McKenzie Morrison in April. Paul, according to Bidarian, is currently weighing 195 pounds. He weighed in at 191.4 pounds for his most recent fight, a knockout against Woodley last December.
Paul announced his departure from Fury on Wednesday, after the British boxer and reality TV star stated he had trouble entering into the United States for a news conference last week. Paul stated that he had reservations about Fury, the half-brother of boxing heavyweight champion Tyson, genuinely wanting to fight him and that he will not do business with Fury as a promoter with Most Valuable Promotions again. Paul was slated to fight Fury in December, but Fury backed out due to sickness.
"We don't even know if he was actually denied admission into the United States," Paul explained. "He doesn't want to fight, and he doesn't want to be in the smoke." He notices me criticising others. He is well aware of my strength and might.
"Perhaps we can start the dialogue if his promoters want to handle all of the logistics and give me my $15 million to go to Europe and fight."
Paul tweeted Thursday morning that he would pay Fury $500,000 to fight him in the United Kingdom following the Rahman fight.
In terms of Rahman, Paul is somewhat acquainted with him. Paul and Rahman sparred roughly 18 months ago, according to Paul. He described the session as "very, really tough" and "a fight."
"He's definitely much bigger than me," Paul observed. "It's a lot of fun to deal with... Now I'm a much better boxer. He's a better fighter now, I'm sure. We'll see who has improved the most in the last 18 months."
Paul believes that beating Rahman will validate him as a boxer and silence detractors who claim he exclusively fights older, smaller opponents from outside the boxing scene.
"They may not like what I'm doing, but they must respect it," Paul remarked. "When I leave this sport, I want people to remember me for being willing to fight anyone, at any time, and in any place." And actually living up to it. I want to set a good example for young fighters all over the world who aren't taking tough battles early in their careers. This is a huge risk."
Content Source: https://www.espn.in/boxing/story/_/id/34201714/tommy-fury-scheduled-aug-6-bout-jake-paul-madison-square-garden
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