Jake Paul will make Hasim Rahman Jr cut almost two stone from his last fight weight in order to make their short-notice fight official.
Rahman has fought his entire career at heavyweight, tipping the scales as high as 269lb as a professional. He last weighed-in at 224lb, but will need to make the 200lb cruiserweight limit to face Paul after stepping in as a short-notice replacement for his August 6 date at Madison Square Garden.
Paul was due to face 8-0 Brit Tommy Fury, whose brother is world heavyweight champion. But he was forced out of the fight due to a travel issue that prohibits him from getting to America, and Rahman Jr was called up to replace him, with the fight being launched next week.
However, Rahman will have to go through a significant weight cut over the next month to make the limit, having most recently fought on April 29 against McKenzie Morrisson. He tipped the scales 24lb heavier than he will need to against Paul on that night, and fighters tend to put weight on after a weigh-in and fight, as opposed to dropping it.
It was, Mirror Fighting understands, one of the sticking points of the deal after Fury failed to meet Paul's Wednesday deadline to assure that he could make it to America. But Rahman appears to have agreed to a 200lb limit, meaning he must begin cutting as soon as possible.
The little-known fighter is the son of former world heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, and one of the biggest attractions he brings to the bout is his size. He will be the first taller and heavier opponent Paul will have faced, and has a 12-1 professional record after an extensive amateur career.
But Paul insists that he went against his manager Nakisa Bidarian's orders, as well as his brother Logan's, to make the fight happen. The risk of losing is higher than ever, and even after his Instagram sky-rocketed to over 250,000 followers after the announcement, Rahman is by far the least culturally relevant opponent he has faced yet.
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"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."
Rahman has insisted that the fight isn't about money, and promised that he will make less than any of Paul's previous opponents. The YouTuber has faced UFC champion Tyron Woodley twice, Bellator champion Ben Askren, basketball star Nate Robinson and AnEsonGib thus far, none of whom had a professional fight before stepping in the ring with him.
