Footage has emerged of Hasim Rahman Jr weighing 216lb a full month before his fight with Jake Paul, casting doubt on his claim he was struggling to make the limit.
Paul and Rahman Jr were due to fight this weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York but the YouTube star cancelled the entire card while accusing his opponent of being unprofessional. Paul revealed he had agreed to increase the weight limit from 200lb to 205lb to ensure Rahman Jr could lose the final pounds safely.
But Paul then accused Rahman Jr of boasting that he would abandon his weight cut and scale 215lb, potentially a stone heavier than his opponent. Rahman Jr has since claimed he was never confident of making the weight limit and that to ask him to do so was an "astronomical" request.
But a video posted to social media by Paul's trainer BJ Flores shows Rahman Jr weighing 216lb on July 6, meaning he had a month to lose the remaining 16 - or subsequently nine - pounds. Responding to a tweet from former fighter Ishe Smith who claimed Rahman Jr had to lose 30lb, Flores wrote: "JUST STOP. This video was sent to us on July 7 by Team Rahman as proof he could make the weight in 30 days. Sixteen pounds over 30 days is very possible. 25 days later Team Rahman refuses to come in below 215lb. Stop with the excuses."
Rahman has criticised Paul for pulling the plug seven days before the first bell and for now allowing him the final week to lose weight. But Paul said: "He signed a contract to fight me at 200lb and was going to cut the weight. This is not a big cut for him; he's a big guy with a ton of weight to lose. He sent a video to the commission the first time he weighed in at 216lb.
"My team called me and said, "They want to change the weight to 205lb, that's a big difference, you normally fight at 190lb, do you want to do the fight still?". I said, 'Let's do it, he already had a weight advantage, a height advantage and a reach advantage but I know I can still beat his a** at 205lb'.
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"We moved forward and today, out of nowhere, his team called and said, 'Hasim is not going lower than 215lb, if the fight's not at 2015lb then we're pulling out'. My manager goes, F*** you guys, we already agreed to five pounds, he's a big guy, losing 10lb... everyone knows in the sport of boxing that is an easy weight cut; UFC champions cut 25lb overnight to make weight, a 10lb weight cut for a heavyweight is nothing'.
'They said if it's not at 215lb then we're out; the biggest pay day of his life times 10 and he's fumbling it. For what? Because he knows he's going to get knocked out by me. The pressure starts to set in and it's exactly what happens with all these guys. I'm sick of it, I'm devastated and I apologise to everyone on the undercard. This is absurd but there's nothing I can do about it; I apologise to the fans and I'll be back at some point."
