Jake Paul vs Hasim Rahman Jr fight canceled due to Rahman weight issues

Jake Paul’s next fight is officially off, with his team sending out a press release this evening announcing the cancellation of their planned Aug. 6 Showtime pay-per-view bout with Hasim Rahman Jr.

The issue came down to Rahman’s weight, according to Paul’s team. They had agreed to bump the limit for the weigh-in from 200 lbs to 205 lbs, with Rahman coming down in weight from just over 224 for his most recent fight in April.

But that wasn’t enough. On Saturday morning, Rahman’s team allegedly “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 lbs,” telling Paul’s team that they would pull out of the fight unless the limit was bumped to 215.

Instead, Paul’s team have made the decision to pull the plug on the event.

“Most Valuable Promotions and Jake Paul will not reward someone that has conducted themselves in such a deceiving and calculated manner,” the press release read. “This forced outcome impacts Jake Paul, Amanda Serrano, and every other fighter on this card who 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.”

The event’s cancellation will obviously have a major impact on the fighters who were on the card — forget about Jake Paul, who doesn’t need the money right away, even counting the work he put in and all that. The other fighters on the show, many of them at least, likely did need the payday. And the entire event is now off.