The scheduled Aug. 6 boxing pay-per-view card headlined by Jake Paul and Hasim Rahman Jr. has been canceled due to a weight issue with Rahman, Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) wrote in a statement Saturday night.
The event was to be held at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
According to MVP’s report, Rahman’s camp informed Paul’s team Saturday morning that Rahman plans to weigh in at 215 pounds this coming Friday. Rahman originally signed a one-fight deal for 200 pounds, and the report said Paul was willing to compromise to make the fight at 205 pounds. The MVP report said Rahman’s camp would withdraw its fighter from the fight if he didn’t make 215 pounds.
“MVP and Jake Paul will not reward someone who deceives them and treats them in a calculated manner,” the statement read. “Therefore, MVP has no choice but to cancel the August 6 event. This forced outcome affects Jake Paul, Amanda Serrano and every fighter on this card who has trained tirelessly over the past few months for this event. The boxing community must hold Hasim Rahman Jr. accountable for his lack of professionalism. .”
A Rahman representative declined to comment when contacted by ESPN on Saturday night.
Serrano, one of the top female fighters in the world, was scheduled to fight Brenda Carabajal in the card’s co-main event.
The Paul-Rahman bout was put together in early July when Tommy Fury pulled out of his fight with Paul due to travel issues.
Rahman signed a contract to fight at 200 pounds on July 6, according to MVP. At the time, Rahman provided evidence of his weight to MVP and the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), stating that he would not lose more than 10% of his weight between that and the competition. Rahman, a heavyweight, last fought at 224 pounds in April and weighed up to 269 pounds as a pro.
As of July 7, Rahman weighed in at 216 pounds, according to MVP, and he and his team guaranteed he was on track to make weight. In interviews with ESPN over the past two weeks, both Rahman and his father, Hashim, expressed confidence that gaining weight won’t be a problem.
MVP’s statement said Rahman provided a signed report from a nutritionist that included weekly weight checks, as required by NYSAC rules.
“Over the past 48 hours, it has become clear that these pledges were not made in good faith,” MVP’s statement read.
MVP’s report Friday at the NYSAC weigh-in that Rahman has lost less than a pound since signing up for the tournament in early July. The commission, MVP said, declared that no fight would be allowed under 205 pounds, which Paul was willing to agree to. According to MVP, a new contract was sent to Rahman’s team that changed Rahman’s weight and that if Rahman missed the weigh-in there would be a heavy penalty.
“Upon receiving this new contract on Saturday morning, Rahman’s camp announced for the first time that he plans to weigh in at 215 pounds at the official weigh-in, and has not agreed to weigh in at 205 pounds, which they inform the most prestigious promotions. If the fight is not agreed to at 215 pounds, we will withdraw from the fight,” the statement said. A request for comment to NYSAC was not immediately returned Saturday night.
“Friend of animals everywhere. Devoted analyst. Total alcohol scholar. Infuriatingly humble food trailblazer.”