Jake Paul 'finalising deal' with new opponent as Tommy Fury fight in serious doubt

JAKE PAUL is finishing up negotiations with his new opponent as the YouTube star prepares to pull the plug on the Tommy Fury fight.

08:26, Wed, Jul 6, 2022 | UPDATED: 08:27, Wed, Jul 6, 2022

Paul is into negotiations with Rahman Jr

Jake Paul is into negotiations with Tommy Fury's replacement Hasim Rahman Jr (Image: GETTY/ Instagram: _jr)

Reports suggest Jake Paul is finalising his deal to face Hasim Rahman Jr in place of Tommy Fury after the Brit was denied entry to the US last week. It was reported on Tuesday that Paul was favouring the son of former heavyweight world champion Hasim Rahman as the direct replacement for the Love Island star and now it seems both men are close to agreeing on a deal.

Paul and Fury are set to face each other on August 6 but the fight remains in crisis after Fury was not allowed to board his flight to New York ahead of the pair’s press conference last Monday. Tyson Fury’s brother told fans on social media that he is unaware of why he was not allowed to fly to the US despite Homeland Security telling him that ‘he knows’ the reason.

Since the announcement, Paul has set Fury a deadline of Wednesday morning to visit the embassy and sort out his travel issues. If Fury fails to meet Paul’s request it is understood that the YouTube star will pull the plug on the fight and replace Fury with Rahman Jr for their showdown at Madison Square Garden, New York.

The latest developments come from Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix who claims that a deal is being finalised between ‘The Problem Child’ and the son of a legend. He wrote: “Jake Paul is finalizing a deal to face Hasim Rahman Jr. on August 6th, sources familiar with the negotiations told @SInow. Rahman (12-1) is the son of ex-heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman. Paul pivoting away from Tommy Fury, who was denied entry into the U.S. last week.”

Fury was denied entry to the US last week

Tommy Fury was denied entry to the US last week (Image: GETTY)

Jake Paul is finalizing a deal to face Hasim Rahman Jr. on August 6th, sources familiar with the negotiations told @SInow. Rahman (12-1) is the son of ex-heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman. Paul pivoting away from Tommy Fury, who was denied entry into the U.S. last week.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) July 6, 2022

Rahman Jr is 12-1 as a professional and boxes as a heavyweight in the paid ranks. It is presently unclear what weight the fight would be agreed at with Paul operating around the cruiserweight limit for his previous fights. Rahman Jr, on the other hand, has stepped on the scales as heavy as 264lbs in the past.

Paul and Rahman Jr are already familiar with each other having shared the ring on a couple of occasions to spar. After one of those spars during Paul’s preparations for NBA star Nate Robinson, Rahman Jr gave his verdict on the YouTuber’s skills during a Sky Sports interview.

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Paul and Rahman Jr have sparred each other before

Jake Paul and Hasim Rahman Jr have sparred each other before (Image: GETTY)

He said: "I kind of expected the same thing that I boxed the first time and that's not what I got. I got somebody that had a better right hand, I had somebody that was actually stepping in with the jab. The best thing about it is - I had somebody that could control his distance.

“The first time he couldn't really do anything like that. He was really just fighting. I could just tell that he had heart. Now he's using his distance better, he's actually stepping into his jab, instead of just putting it there, and he's throwing a good one-two."