Jake Paul was set all set to fight Tommy Fury on August 6 at Madison Square Garden.
The contract for the ex Reality TV Star to face the brash American YouTuber had been signed and the first press conference scheduled. However, that’s as close as we ever got to the fight. Things started crumbling when Fury attempted to board a plane for the presser in the US but was denied entry.
Fury using his visa issues for the reason the fight fell through were thrown into some doubt after his father, John Fury, shockingly revealed to DAZN that his son “wasn’t exactly in training” for the bout and that he was “overweight”:
“Tommy wasn’t exactly in training.”
“He’d only had about 10 days because he’d been on holiday and it was a surprising thing for him.”
“I know you could be fitter, you’re overweight, but it’s entirely up to yourself because I’m busy and I can’t do it.”
Tommy soon come out and refuted his dad’s “bulls**t claims”, saying:
“Recently on social media I’ve seen more s**t on me than ever.”
“I just want to get one thing straight, the reason this fight didn’t take place was because I couldn’t get into the country [US].”
“Not because I wasn’t training or I wasn’t fit.”
“So all this bulls*** about me not being ready, not training, forget about it. If it’s not come from me, don’t believe it as it’s not true.”
Last week Paul confirmed he had moved on and replaced the Brit with Hasim Rahman Jr for the Showtime Pay-Per-View.
Predictably, it didn’t take long for sparring footage to emerge of the two going at it. Initially a clip surfaced where the YouTuber was seen landing a heavy right hand to the son of former World Heavyweight Champion Hasim Rahman Sr.
Another clip was then leaked showing the two getting involved in a heated altercation after what looks to be that same sparring session.
Hasim Rahman JR sends message to Jake Paul
Since the confirmation of the new opponent, Rahman JR has been somewhat quiet, until now. He took to Instagram Live to answer questions from his followers.
When asked if he would be changing his tactics after the sparring footage had been leaked, he replied hinting at his game plan:
“You know what time it is. Not playing no game.”
“Walk him down. Walk him down. Walk him down.”
“I’m not changing my game plan.”
“Why would I change?”
He went on to send a message to his rival:
“He [Paul] needs humbling. He needs some humble pie”.
Asked why Paul believed he was at his level and wanted the fight, Rahman answered:
“Beats me. He said it himself he crazy.”
The two are set to face off for their first press conference on Tuesday, July 11.