“Send me the contract” — Keith Thurman volunteers to fight Jake Paul on August 6 as a replacement for Hasim Rahman Jr.
Without a second thought, Keith Thurman volunteered to face Jake Paul on August 6 as a replacement for Hasim Rahman Jr.
Thurman, who got back to his winning ways in February after two-and-a-half years of inactivity, said he was willing to fight ‘The Problem Child’ on short notice.
In an interview with FightHubTV, Thurman said:
“Send me the contract, I'll show up tomorrow. I could dance circles around Jakey Pauley… Send me the contract. Stephen Espinoza stop playin', if y'all don't got a fight for me, just put me in with that boy.”
Keith Thurman on Jake Paul vs Hasim Rahman Jr being off: "Send me the contract, I'll show up tomorrow. I could dance circles around Jakey Pauley… Send me the contract. Stephen Espinoza stop playin', if y'all don't got a fight for me, just put me in with that boy." [@FightHubTV]
Paul’s fight against Rahman Jr. has been called off after the latter supposedly experienced problems making weight.
Both fighters were signed to fight at 200 pounds, but Rahman faced issues getting down to the weight in time, saying he was unable to go any lower than 215 pounds. He hasn’t fought below a bodyweight of 211 pounds in over 5 years.
The heavyweight fighter claimed that he still wanted the fight despite getting penalized for not making weight.
When will Keith Thurman return to the boxing ring?
Keith Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs, 1 NC) last fought in February, defeating Mario Barrios via unanimous decision. The win ended a near three-year hiatus for the former welterweight titleholder after he took a significant amount of time off following his loss to Manny Pacquiao in 2019.
Thurman, now 33, originally hoped to return to the ring this summer, but it seems that's not on the cards anymore.
Following his comeback win, he called out welterweight kings Terence Crawford and Errol Spence. However, neither fight was pushed through since the two sides are expected to face off later this year.
More recently, he called out Danny Garcia on social media for a rematch after ‘Swift’ defeated Jose Benavidez Jr. via majority decision. Thurman and Garcia faced off in March 2017 at the Barclays Center in New York City. Thurman defeated 'Swift' via split decision in a welterweight title unification matchup.
Check out Keith Thurman's call out of Danny Garcia:
In an interview with BoxingScene, Thurman admitted that with the recent developments, he'd be willing to take a tune-up fight just to stay active and fit in what would be his second outing of the year. He said:
“I was willing to take a lesser fight just to get back in the ring. But as long as I fight two times this year, that will have to be good enough. Get back in October, then hopefully pick up some momentum and have a 12-month span where we’re fighting three times. It will be easier when I get back my title.”