Jake Paul is reportedly set to fight Hasim Rahman Jr after his fight with Tommy Fury has fallen through for the second time. With the half-brother of Tyson Fury still unable to gain entry to the US, the YouTube personality will be meeting a 12-1 heavyweight with an iconic family legacy.
Hasim Rahman Sr pulled off one of the greatest upsets in boxing history when he knocked out Lennox Lewis for the heavyweight championship in 2001. Rahman won the WBC, IBF and lineal titles that night and would enjoy another brief reign with the WBC strap in 2006.
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The younger Rahman now has a chance to write himself into the history books. While Paul is nowhere close to Lennox Lewis, he is unbeaten and his fights are amongst the most-watched in the sport. If Rahman Jr can beat him he will become an overnight superstar, just like his father did 21 years ago.
While Fury’s Love Island fame meant more at box office, this fight is actually a far harder one for Paul. Rahman Jr is a heavyweight, while Paul has never scaled above the cruiserweight limit. While Rahman Jr is coming off a loss, he had won his first twelve professional bouts going into that stoppage defeat to fellow unbeaten James McKenzie Morrison.
This fight will serve as Paul’s first against a true professional boxer. His only previous bout with a fighter who had an existing pro boxing record was his rematch with Tyron Woodley, who only had a previous loss to Paul on his ledger.
Seven-weight world champion Amanda Serrano is expected to see her planned fight with Brenda Carabajal take place on the undercard. It will be her first outing since narrowly losing to Katie Taylor in one of the fights of the year back in April.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change