Hasim Rahman Jr. had around 100 amateur fights, his Aug. 6 pay-per-view opponent Jake Paul one. Rahman has had 13 pro bouts, Paul five. And Rahman is the naturally bigger man.
Not a fair fight?
Well, Paul and his team have tried to minimize Rahman’s advantages with rigid weight restrictions. They’ve agreed to fight at 200 pounds, 24 fewer than the son of the former heavyweight champion weighed for his last fight.
And the contract stipulates that Rahman will lose 25% of his purse for every pound he’s over 200. Plus, a rehydration clause allows Rahman to gain no more than 10 pounds overnight.
Paul has weighed no more than 191¾ for any fight.
Jake Paul (left) and Hasim Rahman Jr. are pictured at a news conference Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Mike Stobe / Getty Images
“It’s a fair fight because they’re bringing me down in weight,” said Rahman, who replaced Tommy Fury as the YouTuber-turned-boxer’s opponent at Madison Square Garden in New York. “Whatever advantages I had they’re trying to neutralize, bringing me down to 200, not allowing me to rehydrate back to being a heavyweight.
“… He doesn’t want to fight. He wants a stacked deck against someone who has disadvantages. That’s the only way he operates.”
Is Rahman worried about the restrictions? Nah.
“I agreed to all of this,” he added, “because I know he can’t beat me.”
Still, Rahman (12-1, 6 KOs) has a degree of respect for Paul (5-0, 4 KOs) as a fighter.
They sparred twice two years ago. In the first session, Rahman was allowed to go all out and overwhelmed the upstart, he said. “Jake doesn’t like to talk about the first sparring session,” he said. And, in the second session, Rahman agreed to take it easy on Paul.
Paul impressed Rahman in one respect: He never quit. And, subsequent to the sparring sessions, it became clear to Rahman that his opponent is serious about learning the ropes.
“He puts the time in, he works very hard and is in very good condition,” Rahman said. “Even though the fighters he’s fought haven’t been boxers he’s still fighting grown men who are athletes.
“So do I consider him a real fighter? I do. I just don’t consider him to be a very good fighter.”
He went on: “I knew from the first time we sparred that if he got hit, he wouldn’t just back down, which a lot of people do when they first get into boxing. He’s not a punk who gets hit and goes. You have to make him go. I’m going to make him go on Aug. 6.”
Rahman is grateful that he has the opportunity to do that.
A few weeks ago it appeared certain that Paul would face longtime nemesis Tommy Fury. However, when the British fighter reportedly couldn’t get into the U.S., Rahman jumped at the chance to take part in the event.
He has received a degree of attention because of his famous father, who knocked out Hall of Famer Lennox Lewis to become champion in 2001. However, that pales in comparison to the exposure he’s getting for this fight.
And, of course, Rahman will receive a career-high payday for his efforts.
“This puts me on another level,” he said. “Now I can get the fights I want. I’ve been wanting to fight a lot of people, to be able to put together more fights so my name will be bigger. … I would love to contend for a (WBC) bridgerweight world title. I would love to knock out Rampage Jackson. I would love to fight Jon Jones. I would love to fight Tommy Fury. I would love to fight Tyson Fury.
“The first step of that is Aug. 6 and handling business.”
