Jake Paul claims he has wanted to fight Hasim Rahman Jr for two years after a sparring session between the pair turned tetchy.
The YouTube star was just 1-0 as a professional when he last stepped between the ropes with Rahman, who at the time was 9-0. The pair sparred twice early in Paul's career, and he has now released footage from one of their sessions, in which Rahman is visibly irritated by something he or his team have done.
Both men appear to be having their gloves taken off, which indicates that it comes after Rahman and Paul had sparred, although it is unclear exactly when the footage was taken. Paul can be heard saying that he "knows when someone is up to something," which angers Rahman.
"You want to talk s*** to a pro athlete?" Rahman asks. "Because I'm really about to come in here and knock your a** out. That's what I'm going to do."
WARNING STRONG LANGUAGE
He then says a few things which are hard to decipher, as he is held back by members of the YouTuber's team. "Who's the b***? Because I was a b**** a minute ago. What's up? I'm trying to bring that man professional work, I'm going to say this one time, real nice, get that camera out of my face."
Paul can be seen in the footage dancing and mocking Rahman, as well as threatening to use his wrestling background if the pair were to fight. But it clearly angered the social media star, who has kept his animosity towards the heavyweight since and has now offered him a massive money fight opportunity.
"I’ve wanted this fight ever since Hasim ran his big mouth to me two years ago in the gym," Paul said in a lengthy Instagram post captioning the video. "My brother and manager didn’t want me to take this fight. They said it was too much risk.
"The New York State Athletic Commission didn’t want to approve this fight because they said Hasim had too much experience for me. He has over 100 amateur fights. 10x more than Tommy, but I'm built different."
Do you believe Hasim Rahman Jr will be too good for Jake Paul? Let us know in the comments section below!
Rahman is 12-1 as a professional, and will finally satisfy fans' appetites for Paul, who is 5-0, to fight a 'real boxer'. He has previously faced MMA champions, YouTubers and a basketball star, but none of his five professional or amateur opponents had ever boxed at any level before he faced them.
Tyron Woodley, who he beat by way of split decision and then a vicious knockout, was a fearsome MMA striker, and a former UFC champion with four title defences. But he had never boxed professionally and was riding a losing streak when he signed to fight Paul.
AnEsonGib, the YouTube star he faced in his professional debut, was the only person Paul has fought with any boxing background. He had fought in just two white collar bouts before turning professional to face his rival, and was quickly stopped within a round in Miami.
'Gib' has since gone on to beat Tayler Holder in an exhibition, becoming the only Paul opponent to return to the ring and win after facing him. He will return to the professional ranks against Austin McBroom in Los Angeles later this month.
