Jake Paul has revealed that he wasn’t allowed to pick an MMA fighter to replace Tommy Fury for his August 6th fight in New York – and it almost all fell through.
When Jake Paul and Tommy Fury announced that they’d finally be squaring off on August 6, plenty of fans were immediately excited that the pair would be settling their beef inside the ring. Though, some were skeptical it would actually go ahead.
After Tommy ran into some trouble traveling to the United States, the fight was canned and Jake moved on to find another opponent – Hasim Rahman Jr. – to take Tommy’s place opposite him in the ring at Madison Square Garden.
Prior to announcing Rahman Jr. as his opponent though, the YouTuber-turned-boxer was linked with a handful of fighters with an MMA background as potential opponents, including both Nate Diaz and Anderson Silva. However, he’s revealed that he was stopped from fighting someone like that.
Jake Paul denied MMA opponent for August 6 fight
Following the first pre-fight press conference between Jake and Hasim, the social media star appeared on Showtime’s Morning Kombat podcast to talk more about the matchup.
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After revealing the weight the fight will take place at, which has been pushed by the New York State Athletic Commission, Jake noted that they also had some say on his opponent following Tommy dropping out.
“There were certain names that they wouldn’t approve, mostly MMA fighters,” Jake told Luke Thomas, noting his team that sought a professional boxer as Tommy’s replacement. “It sort of reversed because they were like ‘we don’t know if we’re going to approve Jake for this’. Just like everyone, this is a high-risk fight. This is insane, this is psychotic, no boxer is taking chances like this as early on in their career.”
Timestamp of 3:40
Of course, while he was denied the chance to fight an MMA fighter this time around, it’s possible that Jake fights a fighter from that world at a later date.
Plenty of fans are already looking beyond the Hasim Rahman Jr fight and looking at who Jake might take on next, but the undefeated boxer will present a tricky challenge for the social media phenom.
