It appears that Vergil Ortiz and Michael McKinson will be participating in the only major televised bout next Saturday. On Saturday evening, Most Valuable Promotions announced that Jake Paul would not be fighting Hasim Rahman Jr. on August 6, 2022 at Madison Square Garden. The cancelation was reportedly triggered by a dispute regarding the weight at which Hasim Rahman Jr. would fight.
Hasim Rahman Jr. stepped in as a late replacement when Tommy Fury bowed out of the fight due to travel restrictions. Paul’s decision to challenge Rahman Jr. in the wake of Fury’s absence surprised many for a variety of reasons. First, Rahman Jr. is much more experienced than Fury or any of Paul’s previous opponents. Second, Rahman Jr. typically fights as a heavyweight while Paul typically fights as a light heavyweight or cruiserweight. Given the weight difference, Rahman Jr. reportedly agreed to weigh in at 205 pounds prior to the bout on August 6.
Days before the fight was scheduled to take place, Paul’s imprint, Most Valuable Promotions, sent out a press release claiming that Rahman Jr. intended to violate his contract. In a press release, Paul’s promotional entity alleges that Rahman 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.” In response, Paul and company pulled the plug on the fight.
“Most Valuable Promotions and Jake Paul will not reward someone that has conducted themselves in such a deceiving and calculated manner,” the press release reads.
“This forced outcome impacts Jake Paul, Amanda Serrano, and every other fighter on this card who trained tirelessly over the past few months.”
Rahman Jr. has not yet responded to the allegations put forth by Paul and Most Valuable Promotions.
This is the complete press release from Most Valuable Promotions announcing that #PaulRahmanJr is canceled. pic.twitter.com/yODxKbFX8o
— Ryan Shepard (@RyanMShepard) July 31, 2022
