By: Sean Crose
Now that Tommy Fury will no longer be Jake Paul’s opponent on August 6th as had been scheduled, brash social media star turned 5-0 cruiserweight Paul is officially set to face the 12-1 Hasim Rahman Jr, the son of former heavyweight champ Hasim Rahman, instead. “Bigger, Stronger, More experienced,” Paul tweeted on Thursday morning over a promotional poster of he and Rahman. “KO power But it doesn’t matter. They don’t have my heart, don’t have my drive & definitely don’t have my team. August 6 I’m showing the world that Jake Paul is a bad mother fucker.”
Fury was supposed to be Paul’s dance partner on the 6th of August, but was not allowed into America for reasons that are still unknown. The matter was never settled, but Paul made an offer of sorts to Fury Thursday morning: “I’m confident you are a scared little boy,” he tweeted to Fury, “who doesn’t want to fight or understand business. I will pay you $500K to fight me in the UK. I will do it shortly after August 6. You accept?” Fury, for what it’s worth, did not. “I wouldn’t get out of bed to fight you for $500k,” he responded. “Let me know when you’re ready to have a serious conversation.”
It’s obvious, though, that Paul has had serious conversations with the 31 year old Rahman. Paul had made it clear earlier in the week that he was lining up opponents should a fight with Fury fall through. Rahman is an understandable choice – as he and Paul have sparred in the past. Yet there are those who see Rahman as a serious challenge for Paul, pointing to video of the two men sparring as evidence. It’s also worth noting that Rahman is an experienced professional boxer, something Paul has never faced in a prize fight.
Paul-Rahman will be set for eight rounds in the cruiserweight division. The bout will share the main event slot of the August 6th Madison Square Garden card with the Amanda Serrano-Brenda Carbajal featherweight title bout. Paul, however, is the main attraction when it comes to casual fight fans. Since the match with Rahman has been announced, the news has rapidly climbed up the trend’s list on Twitter. Like him or not, Paul is perhaps one of the biggest draws in contemporary boxing. He’s also proving to be rather gutsy in his choice of opponents. No one can say he isn’t willing to challenge himself.