Jake Paul vs. Hasim Rahman Jr canceled due to alleged weight deception

Jake Paul vs. Hasim Rahman Jr. has been canceled due to actions the promotion is calling “deceiving and calculated.”

According to Most Valuable Promotions, Rahman did not maintain his weight in an honest fashion and requested multiple times the bout be shifted to a heavier weight class.

“MVP and Jake Paul will not reward someone that has conducted themselves in such a deceiving and calculated manner,” a Saturday press release reads.

The cancellation comes one week before the bout was scheduled to take place at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The promotion claimed Rahman originally agreed to a 200-pound cruiserweight bout and provided proof to the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) he weighed 216 pounds July 7.

“In the last 48 hours, it has become clear that these assurances were not made in good faith,” the promotion said.

It added Rahman has only lost one pound since his July 7 weigh-in. The promotion offered a new 205-pound contract weight, but decided to cancel the bout after Rahman’s camp demanded 215 pounds, MVP claims. At that point, the bout, and event as a whole, was called off. Tickets will be refunded.

“The forced outcome impacts Jake Paul, Amanda Serrano and every other fighter on this card who have trained tirelessly over the past few months for this event,” the release said. “The boxing community must hold Hasim Rahman Jr. liable for his lack of professionalism. There has been endless work, time and money put into building this event and we want to thank our team, Showtime, Madison Square Garden, Holden Boxing and all our partners for their continued support. Above everything we want to thank our fans for their commitment to the athletes and the sport of boxing.”

Read the full statement below:

Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie