Jake Paul allegedly asked Hasim Rahman Jr. for 'ridiculous' things ahead of the fight - "There's a lot of things that Jake likes to do under the table"
Jake Paul vs. Hasim Rahman Jr. is set to take center stage at Madison Square Garden on August 6. The showdown was only recently finalized due to Paul's original opponent Tommy Fury being denied access into the USA.
Due to the frantic nature of needing to get a new opponent for the American, there have been very strict rules given to Rahman by Paul's team. However, the natural heavyweight proceeded to accept the opportunity.
While doing an interview with TMZ Sports, Rahman explained the situation, where he said:
"Everyone over there [in Jake Paul's team] are second guessing about this fight and that's why they hit me with the, 'Oh, you'll never get this fight again if you don't take it now. This is a take it or leave it deal. Either you submit to all these ridiculous things or you don't get it [the fight].' I said, 'Okay, I'll take it.'"
Rahman was then asked what he meant by "ridiculous things," to which he replied:
"It's ridiculous that you ask someone that fights at heavyweight, who's just got off of a fight and they know I just weighed 224lbs to come down to 200lbs for a fight in a month. On top of that, to not allow me to rehydrate myself, they wanted to make the rehydration clause. At six o'clock, of the night on the fight, I couldn't be over 210lbs. So, there's a lot of things that Jake likes to do under the table on paper that people don't know about."
Although Rahman has been given many obligations to follow, this fight is a huge opportunity for his career. He will be competing in one of the most historic boxing arenas in only his 14th professional fight.
Watch Rahman's full interview here:
How much of a risk is this fight for Jake Paul?
For any boxer who's trying to climb their way to the top of the sport, a fight against another opponent should always be considered a risk. However, every boxer should be expected to take many risks to progress their career.
In the grand scheme of Paul's position in his career, this is a huge risk and arguably the biggest of his professional career. This is due to the profile that 'The Problem Child' has built up and a loss would likely destroy any chances of pushing on as a serious contender in the boxing world in the near future.
To further this, many would feel like he had failed in his first fight against a traditional boxer, which would result in him losing a lot of his reputation in the sport.
Watch Jake Paul and Hasim Rahman Jr. face off here: