Jake Paul vs. Hasim Rahman Jr. Cancelled, Most Valuable Promotions Release Statement
It looks like we will no longer be seeing Jake Paul fight next weekend.
Most Valuable Promotions released a statement regarding the fight, the reason why it has now been cancelled and refunds for those who were getting ready to attend next week.
“Since weighing in at 216 pounds on July 7, Rahman and his camp have offered assurance after assurance publicly and privately that he was on track to make weight at the weigh-in on Aug. 5, going as far as to provide a letter signed by a recognized nutritionist that his weight cut was progressing without issue per New York State Athletic Commission’s required weekly weight checks. In the last 48 hours, it has become clear that these assurances were not made in good faith.”
“On Friday, Rahman submitted a weight check to the New York State Athletic Commission that demonstrated he had lost less than one pound since originally signing to take the fight 24 days prior. This prompted the commission to declare that it would not sanction the fight at less than 205 pounds. 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-pound limit, imposing 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 pounds 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 Aug. 6 event. 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. The boxing community must hold Hasim Rahman Jr. liable for his lack of professionalism. There has been endless work, time and money put into building this event and we want to thank our team, Showtime, Madison Square Garden, Holden Boxing and all of our partners for their continued support. Above everything, we want to thank our fans for their commitment to the athletes and the sport of boxing.”
Paul, who was originally scheduled to face Tommy Fury on Aug. 6 until the former reality star was denied entry into the U.S due to the Fury family’s association with alleged criminal figure Daniel Kinahan has dealt with never ending unfortunate events leading up to this now cancelled bout.
The undefeated Paul would make a tweet following the announcement, showing much displeasure to the news that the main event, the Amanda Serrano co-main event and the entire card was now cancelled due to this.
No word yet from Rahman Jr’s team or on if the card can be rebooked for another date.
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