"Think about the pressure" - Chael Sonnen explains why Jake Paul's bet proposal to Hasmin Rahman Jr. was "brilliant"
Jake Paul always likes to attach interesting and denigrating bets to his boxing fights, and his bout against Hasmin Rahman Jr. is no different. In this case, Chael Sonnen believes 'The Problem Child' has outdone himself.
During the Paul vs Rahman Jr. press conference, Jake Paul tried to make a $500,000 bet with Rahman Jr., who refused to bet money. Paul countered, saying:
“Broke a** – let’s bet this: When I beat you, you have to change your Instagram name to ‘I let my dad down.’”
Sonnen reacted to that in a Twitter video, saying:
"Not everything is about money. Remember when Jake Paul did that bet with Tyron Woodley? It was over a tattoo, something to do with that? Okay, similar thing. But he's trying to bet Rahman Jr. - and don't forget Rahman Jr. is a second generation fighter. I think his father might have even been world champion. 'If I beat you, you, Rahman Jr., change your Instagram to 'I disappointed my father.''"
"Now don't just take that in for the salacious entertainment aspect of it. Think of the psychological warfare that statement - think about what Paul just did. Think about the pressure Jake just put on Rahman Jr. and tell me it wasn't brilliant."
Jake Paul’s latest bet… https://t.co/cOIdJFqLNY
Hasmin Rahman Sr. is indeed a boxing world champion. He held the WBC, IBF, and IBO heavyweight titles in 2001 and won the WBC belt again in 2005. He's best known for a big upset KO victory over Lennox Lewis.
Lennox Lewis got embarrassed by Hasim Rahman in 2001. He lost his titles and got stopped. Boxing media across the world predicted this was the end of Lennox. Seven months later Lennox landed this nuclear weapon to end the debate & get revenge. https://t.co/bRr8uj8Qcj
Jake Paul's history of fight bets include name changes and tattoos
Paul has a tried and tested system in place for his fight bets. First he offers a six or seven figure cash bet big enough to scare his less wealthy opponent away. When they turn that down, he proposes a bet that will dishonor them if they lose.
Tyron Woodley got the tattoo. instagram.com/p/CUVLja0r7Cr/… https://t.co/fDxR6aRGFy
Tyron Woodley had to get an 'I love Jake Paul' tattoo, which he ended up putting on his middle finger. Leading up to the first cancelled Tommy Fury fight, Paul wanted Fury to change his name legally to Tommy Fumbles for a year. In the rematch, he drew a million dollar bet out of Fury's older brother and heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
@jakepaul @tommytntfury twitter.com/jakepaul/statu…
💰 @jakepaul @tommytntfury twitter.com/jakepaul/statu… https://t.co/a2hm7ybqx6
Now he's trying to get into Hasmin Rahman Jr.'s head by reminding him he's not just putting his own legacy on the line, but his father's as well. As Chael Sonnen pointed out, that's some high level mind games right there.
When Jake Paul clashed with his next opponent Hasim Rahman Jr after their sparring session 18 months ago…
[📽️ @JakePaul] https://t.co/YD48PIQAGg