Watch: Jake Paul and Hasim Rahman Jr. have heated first staredown
Jake Paul and Hasim Rahman Jr. had an intense first press conference earlier today, July 12.
'The Problem Child' and 'Gold Blooded' are set to throw down next month at Madison Square Garden in New York. The latter is a short-notice replacement, as the YouTuber was originally supposed to face Tommy Fury on August 6 instead.
Despite the fight coming together on short notice, it's oddly more compelling than the original contest. The main reason being that the level of competition is much higher. Rahman Jr. is also a much more interesting challenge for Paul than 'TNT'.
The 31-year-old has tripled the professional fights of the YouTuber-turned-boxer, and has many amateur contests as well. Furthermore, Rahman Jr. normally fights at heavyweight, and will be much bigger than Paul when fight night rolls around.
Lastly, the two previously trained together as sparring partners back in 2020. The sparring session became notable due to Paul sharing footage of a heated confrontation they had. 'The Problem Child' then released a video of them sparring since the announcement.
Earlier today, Paul and Rahman Jr. had their first press conference for their August 6 showdown. It's clear that the two men have bad blood dating back to their sparring days, as they traded insults after insult during the presser.
To cap off the festivities, fans got to see the two staredown for the first time. It is clear that Rahman Jr. is much bigger than the YouTube star. Also, it’s not surprising that they continued to trade words in their staredown.
Watch Jake Paul and Hasim Rahman Jr.'s first staredown below:
First face off 😳
#PaulRahman August 6th on SHO PPV.
@jakepaul @_HasimRahmanJr https://t.co/uYkOUo5urb
Will Jake Paul defeat Hasim Rahman Jr. in August?
Presently, Jake Paul is a massive favorite against Hasim Rahman Jr.
To this point in his career, 'The Problem Child' has barely been tested. While they're not established boxers, Jake Paul has scored knockout victories over names such as Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley.
While Rahman Jr. is an established professional boxer, he's not known to much in the boxing community. He's the son of former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman Sr., but unlike his father, he hasn't fought much competition.
Furthermore, the 31-year-old is having to cut down to cruiserweight for the first time in his career. He's also coming off a knockout loss to McKenzie Morrison earlier this year.
With all of those factors against him, the short-notice replacement is a big underdog. However, there's no doubt fans will be entertained on August 6.
Here are the odds for Jake Paul vs. Hasim Rahman Jr.
Jake Paul -225 (4/9)
Hasim Rahman Jr. +180 (9/5)
(odds via @betonline_ag) 🥊 #PaulRahman
https://t.co/4AbLLrdi3S