Hasim Rahman Jr. looks to have shot himself in the foot with his weight struggles ahead of his now-canceled clash with Jake Paul.
Paul and Rahman were scheduled to face off in the ring this weekend (Aug. 6, 2022) as headliners in New York City’s famous Madison Square Garden arena. With Rahman being the most unknown opponent of Paul’s in the YouTube star’s five-fight career, interest levels felt significantly lower than in previous bouts and Paul appeared to understand that.
Many in the community began speculating that the bout’s real reason for being canceled was because of weak ticket sales, not Rahman’s decision to not make the agreed-upon 200-pound weight limit. According to an anonymous Madison Square Garden representative today (Thurs., Aug. 4, 2022), the event was trending to do much better than popular belief.
“To be clear, sales were strong heading into fight week — the cancellation was not based on ticket sales,” the representative said via MMA Fighting. “This fight was projected to be in the top 10 of highest grossing boxing events at MSG in the past 15 years.
“MVP (Most Valuable Promotions) has been great partners and we’re looking forward to working with them again soon,” said the representative.
In terms of venue and location, the match would have easily been the biggest of Paul’s career thus far after previously competing in the states of Florida, Ohio, Georgia, and California. It’s unlikely that Rahman — a former training partner of Paul’s — will still get his crack at the outspoken social media sensation and it will remain to be determined whether or not another more-experienced boxer will take his spot.