"It's all part of screwing with somebody" - John McCarthy mirrors Dana White's comments on Jake Paul vs. Hasim Rahman Jr. "gimmick fight" cancelation
John McCarthy concurs with Dana White's thoughts on the cancelation of Jake Paul's bout against Hasim Rahman Jr., which was previously set to go down in New York later this month.
According to an announcement by Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), the organization that promotes Paul's fights, Rahman Jr. requested a change in the contracted weight for the matchup, resulting in the cancelation.
McCarthy believes the "gimmick fight" doesn't have the drawing power to sell out Madison Square Garden in the first place. The former MMA referee also deems the whole fiasco to be a part of "screwing with someone." The 59-year-old recently said on the Weighing In podcast:
"I'm not saying he wasn't gonna get into the fight. But this is mind games, this is tricks. You've seen it before. You've seen people pull this crap where there's more things going on in the back that the one fighter has to deal with than the other. It's all part of screwing with somebody... And you go, 'Hey, is this a fight that, you know, should sell out Madison Square Garden?' No, it's not. It's a gimmick fight."
Watch the latest edition of the Weighing In podcast below:
Dana White is also skeptical of Jake Paul's explanation for the cancelation of his bout against Rahman Jr. According to the UFC president, the lack of ticket sales might be the real reason for the fight falling through. White said during the UFC 277 post-fight presser:
“I think they sold under $1 million in tickets and it costs $500,000 to turn the f*cking lights on at MSG. That’s what I think. Not to mention hotel rooms in New York and transportation is very expensive.”
Watch Dana White's appearance at the UFC 277 post-fight scrum below:
Hasim Rahman Jr. responds to cancelation of bout against Jake Paul
Hasim Rahman Jr. was scheduled to lock horns with Jake Paul at Madison Square Garden next Saturday. However, MVP recently announced the cancelation of the bout as Rahman Jr. allegedly planned to come in over the decided weight limit.
Rahman Jr. soon responded to the cancelation being blamed on him. Replying to boxing journo Dan Rafael on Twitter, he wrote:
"Why am I weighing in 2,and 3 weeks before the fight Daniel? I didn’t even get a chance to hit the scale on 8/5 like the contract said. How the fight off on me when THEY cancelled the event."
Why am I weighing in 2,and 3 weeks before the fight Daniel? I didn’t even get a chance to hit the scale on 8/5 like the contract said. How the fight off on me when THEY cancelled the event. twitter.com/danrafael1/sta…
Jake Paul also urged other promoters not to let Rahman Jr. fight on any of their cards. 'Gold-Blooded' believes Paul's attempt shows that he is in demand.
Why he don’t have this energy in person though? Biggest pay day of my life? I already made 4X what you offered off of sparring 🤡 now you want to paint the narrative to not let me on anyones cards cause you KNOW the people going demand us. 😂😂 #JakeFraud https://t.co/nDQItZEeeD