The event was to take place at Madison Square Garden in New York. According to MVP’s statement, Rahman’s camp told Paul’s team Saturday morning that Rahman planned to weigh in next Friday at 215 pounds. Rahman was originally signed for a fight at 200 pounds, and the statement said Paul was willing to compromise to make the fight at 205 pounds. MVP’s statement read that Rahman’s camp said their fighter would pull out of the fight if the fight wasn’t at 215 pounds. “MVP and Jake Paul will not reward someone who behaved in such a deceptive and calculated manner,” the statement read. “As such, MVP has no choice but to cancel the August 6th event. This forced outcome affects Jake Paul, Amanda Serrano and every other fighter on this card who have trained tirelessly over the past few months for this fact. The boxing community needs to hold Hasim Rahman Jr accountable for his lack of professionalism.” A representative for Rahman declined to comment when reached by ESPN on Saturday night. Serrano, one of the top women’s fighters in the world, was scheduled to fight Brenda Carabajal in the co-main event of the card. The Paul-Rahman fight was arranged in early July when Tommy Fury pulled out of his fight with Paul due to travel issues. According to MVP’s statement, Rahman signed a deal on July 6 to compete at 200 pounds. At the time, Rahman provided evidence of his weight to MVP and the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) that he would not lose more than 10% of his weight between then and the game. Rahman, a heavyweight, last fought at 224 pounds in April and had weighed up to 269 pounds as a pro. On July 7, according to MVP, Rahman weighed 216 kg and he and his team had given him assurances that he was well on his way to making the weight. In interviews with ESPN over the past two weeks, Rahman and his father, Hashim, both expressed confidence that gaining weight would not be a problem. MVP’s statement said Rahman provided a signed statement from a nutritionist that his weight was progressing, according to NYSAC rules, which included weekly weight checks. “Over the past 48 hours, it has become clear that these assurances were not made in good faith,” MVP’s statement said. The MVP statement said at a NYSAC weight check on Friday, Rahman had lost less than a pound since signing for the game in early July. The committee, MVP said, said they would not sanction the fight at less than 205 pounds, which Paul was willing to agree to. A new contract was then sent to Rahman’s team, according to MVP, with the weight change and severe penalties if Rahman lost weight. “After receiving this new contract on Saturday morning, Rahman’s camp reported for the first time that he planned to weigh in at 215 pounds at the official weigh-in and would not agree to weigh in at 205 pounds and inform Most Valuable Promotions that he is withdrawing from the fight unless the fight was agreed upon at 215 pounds,” the statement read. A request for comment to the NYSAC Saturday night was not immediately returned.
