"Fake news" - Chael Sonnen completely shuts down fan argument that Jake Paul was trying to avoid Hasim Rahman Jr. fight
Chael Sonnen has defended Jake Paul from a fan who accused 'The Problem Child' of forcing Hasim Rahman Jr. to "jump through hoops."
On Saturday, it was announced that Paul's August 6 bout was canceled after his opponent, Rahman Jr., pulled out due to weight-cutting issues. Sonnen argued that Rahman Jr. didn't want to fight Paul as he could've threatened the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) with legal action if he really wanted to push through.
At that point, a fan responded to Sonnen, arguing that Paul was to blame for forcing his opponent to cut down from his natural weight. Sonnen quickly shut the argument down and pointed out that the agreed-upon weight was based on NYSAC rules and regulations.
Check out the interaction below:
Anybody who wanted to fight would have threatened legal action against the commission. Whether they prevailed or not they would have made the threat. Top Ramen and Company laid down quickly.
@ChaelSonnen All do respect uncle Chael, if Jake wanted to fight, he wouldn’t force the only opponents that’s even close to his natural weight to jump through hoops just to fight. Jake wants to put everyone he fights at a disadvantage before the bell rings. Fighters fight. On both ends.
Fake news. New York requires athletes to be within 10% of each other. The numbers Jake presented were not just so he didn’t have to fight a larger man, the numbers put them within compliance. If Jake shows up at 190 and his opponent is 215 the fight is automatically canceled. twitter.com/kenobi_sage14/…
According to Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), Rahman Jr. signed an agreement on July 6 to fight the YouTuber at 200 pounds. The boxer weighed in at 216 pounds the following day, but vowed to make weight for the August 6 bout.
However, a weight check done a week before the fight found that Rahman Jr. wasn't on track to make the weight, having lost just one pound since. The commission subsequently declared that it would not sanction the fight if Rahman could not drop down to 205 pounds.
MVP added that Paul agreed to fight on, but sent Rahman Jr. a new contract with "strict penalties." Rahman Jr.'s team apparently wasn't keen on accepting the terms and decided to withdraw from the scheduled clash.
Chael Sonnen thinks the boxing community is afraid of Jake Paul
Chael Sonnen is convinced that the boxing community is threatened by Jake Paul's disruption of the sport.
The former UFC star, who claimed Paul listens to his advice, revealed that he once warned the YouTube star not to take the Tommy Fury fight. In an episode of his Beyond the Fight podcast, Sonnen shared what he told Paul:
"Jake, don't do the Tommy Fury thing. Not only does Tommy not want that fight, neither does the community of boxing. They're setting you up. They're setting you up because they – the community – are just as scared as the boys in the locker room that you're as good as you're saying you are. And the community does not wanna have to accept that an outsider who didn't start this as an second-generation [boxer] the day he came out of the womb can be a main event and a box office draw."
Catch Chael Sonnen's advice to Jake Paul:
Paul was originally scheduled to face Tommy Fury on August 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. However, Tyson Fury's younger half-brother pulled out, claiming he was denied entry into the United States. It was the second time Fury withdrew from a scheduled meeting with Paul.
Hasim Rahman Jr. was then announced as Fury's replacement, but with the the matchup falling through once again, the event was canceled altogether.