Jake Paul has revealed that his brother Logan Paul cautioned him against fighting Hasim Rahman Jr.
'The Problem Child' was set to face Tommy Fury this August at Madison Square Garden. However, the bout began running into problems due to the latter's visa issues. Hence, earlier this week, the fight was called off.
Following the cancelation of the Fury fight, the YouTuber-turned-boxer began looking for a new matchup. Out of nowhere, Paul selected a former training partner, Hasim Rahman Jr., to fill the headlining role in August.
The fight was one that shocked many fans. 'Gold Blooded' is a heavyweight holding a 12-1 professional record. Furthermore, Rahman Jr. has much more amateur experience than the YouTuber.
While the announcement shocked fans and pundits, the matchup also surprised Paul's own brother and manager. The 25-year-old announced the fight, and also revealed that many people tried to talk him out of the fight.
In an Instagram post announcing the matchup, Paul wrote:
"My brother and manager didn’t want me to take this fight. They said it was too much risk. The New York state athletic commission didn’t want to approve this fight because they said Hasim had too much experience for me. He has over 100 amateur fights. 10x more than Tommy… but i’m built different. I’m psychotic."
See Paul's Instagram post below:
Jake Paul's manager discusses the fight with Hasim Rahman Jr.
Jake Paul's manager has confirmed that he isn't a fan of the matchup with Hasim Rahman Jr.
'The Problem Child' took the fight to 'Gold Blooded' to prove the doubters wrong. While the YouTuber sits at 5-0 as a professional boxer, he's never faced an established professional boxer to this point in his career.
Furthemore, he's never fought someone who is much bigger than him. Now, he's not just fighting someone with more experience than him, they're fighting a boxer who is much bigger than him.
Going along with that, unlike Tommy Fury, Rahman Jr. isn't a super well-known boxer. It's that lack of notoriety that led Paul's manager, Nakisa Bidarian, to not be a fan of the matchup.
In an ESPN interview, the manager confirmed that he warned Jake Paul against the fight. Bidarian stated:
"I don't see the benefit of doing the fight at this stage, given all the other opportunities that are there for Jake. He can prove himself against a 6-0 boxer or a 5-0 boxer, someone who is just there to build their record to lose to someone like Jake. That's not what he wanted."
See Bidarian's interview below: