‘They sold less than $1million worth of tickets’: UFC boss Dana White suggests Jake Paul called off his upcoming fight over issues with ticket sales NOT Hasim Rahman Jr’s weight
- Jake Paul canceled his upcoming fight with Hasim Rahman Jr. on August 6th
- The pair were scheduled to meet in the ring at legendary Madison Square Garden
- UFC’s Dana White has suggested a lack of ticket sales caused the cancellation
- Paul explained that issues with Rahman Jr.’s weight caused the fight to be abandoned
UFC boss Dana White has suggested Jake Paul canceled his anticipated upcoming fight with Hasim Rahman Jr due to a lack of interest and failure to sell enough tickets.
Paul was scheduled to face Rahman Jr. in the ring at Madison Square Garden on August 6 but stalled the fight due to an issue with his opponent’s weight.
White – who has clashed with Paul in the past – has offered an alternative theory that the fight was canceled due to low ticket sales for the fight at the notoriously expensive boxing venue.
“I think they sold less than $1 million worth of tickets and it costs $500,000 to turn on the frigging lights at MSG,” he said.
‘That’s what I think. Not to mention the hotel rooms in New York and transportation is very expensive.”
Jake Paul slammed Hasim Rahman Jr. for pulling out of his upcoming Aug. 6 fight
UFC boss Dana White has suggested the fight was canceled due to a lack of ticket sales
According to Paul’s advertising company, Rahman had lost less than a pound than he originally promised for the fight – which was to be held at a maximum of 200 pounds.
Rahman weighed 216 pounds on July 7 and had reportedly assured Paul’s team that he was on track to gain weight at the August 5 weigh-in.
However, Paul’s camp claims that it has “been clear that these assurances were not made in good faith.”
Paul said Rahman was struggling to cut weight to reach the fight’s 205-pound threshold
The Youtuber’s promotions team, Most Valuable Promotions, announced the news on Saturday night, saying they couldn’t work with someone who was acting “so fraudulently and calculatedly”.
Paul was originally scheduled to fight Tommy Fury, but the younger brother of world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury withdrew for a second time after being denied the visa required to enter America.
The YouTube star called an “emergency press conference” when he posted a video to his Twitter account branding Rahman “unprofessional,” before immediately changing his bio to read, “Hasim Rahman Jr .and Tommy Fury were both too scared to fight me and I’m not the ‘real boxer’…lololol.’
Paul quickly changed his bio to claim that Rahman and Tommy Fury were too scared to fight him
“Okay folks, emergency press conference,” he said. “You may have seen the news that Hasim Rahman Jr. retired from the fight, this is no joke.
‘I am devastated. I can’t fucking believe this. We just got this news.
“This is just another case of a professional boxer just like Tommy Fury being afraid to fight me. It’s clear every day that working with these guys was so unprofessional and they were looking for an excuse to get so much money out of this event. To force us to do things.
“And from the jump I knew from the bottom of my heart that these guys didn’t want to get in the ring with me, that’s as clear as day.”
FULL EXPLAINING OF JAKE PAUL’S MOST VALUABLE PROMOTIONS
A statement from Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions read, “On July 5, Hasim Rahman Jr. signed a fight agreement to fight Jake Paul at a max weight of 200 pounds on August 6 at Madison Square Garden.
“At the time of signing, Rahman provided evidence of his weight to comfort Most Valuable Promotions and the New York State Athletic Commission that he would not lose more than 10 percent of his weight in the four weeks leading up to the fight. Since weighing 216 pounds on July 7, Rahman and his camp have publicly and privately asserted that he is on track to weigh in on July 5, accredited dietitians confirming his weight loss in accordance with the New York State Athletic Commission’s prescribed weekly weight checks progressed without problems.
“Over the past 48 hours it has become clear that these representations were not made in good faith.
“On Friday, Rahman filed a weight check with the New York State Athletic Commission showing he had lost less than a pound since originally signing on to fight the fight 24 days earlier.
“This prompted the commission to state that it would not sanction the fight at less than 205lbs. Still, Jake Paul was ready to continue the fight at this new weight and a new contract was sent to Rahman’s promoter reflecting 205 pounds. limit and impose severe penalties if he fails to gain weight.
“When he received this new contract on Saturday morning, Rahman’s camp indicated for the first time that he planned to weigh 215 pounds. at the official weigh-in and would not agree to weigh in at 205lbs and inform Most Valuable Promotions that they are withdrawing from the fight unless the fight was settled at 215lbs.
“MVP and Jake Paul will not reward someone who behaved in such a fraudulent and calculated manner.
“As such, MVP is left with no choice but to cancel the August 6 event. This forced result is having an impact on Jake Paul, Amanda Serrano and every other fighter on this map who have been training tirelessly for this event over the past few months. The boxing community must hold Hasim Rahman Jr. accountable for his lack of professionalism.
“An infinite amount of work, time and money has gone into building this event and we want to thank our team, Showtime, Madison Square Garden, Holden Boxing and all of our partners for their continued support. Above all, we want to thank our fans for their commitment to the athletes and boxing.”