World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman stunned the boxing world with the unbelievable notion that YouTuber Jake Paul would earn an official ranking.
Despite never beating a boxer, Paul has five professional wins after knocking over a series of overweight MMA fighters, sportspeople, and fellow vloggers.
Jake Paul – WBC Ranking
After finally stepping up to face a boxer in the unranked Hasim Rahman Jr., Sulaiman has promised Paul a place in the top 40 list at either light-heavyweight or cruiserweight.
“Coming on August 6, Jake Paul will take on Hasim Rahman Jr. Winning this fight will earn him a World Boxing Council ranking,” stated Sulaiman.
The disbelief at the apparent fact that Sulaiman was rating Paul merely for his social following and position at Showtime rather than merit was swift.
This is the dumbest thing I’ve read since scouring two separate lawsuits that say boxing promoters made payments to Sports Consulting Services, allegedly funneling money to the WBA in a cash-for-ranking scheme,” pointed out Las Vegas reporter Alan Dawson.
Fan and media disgust
“These sanctioning bodies are making actual boxing a clown show,” he added.
Another commenter stated that WBC is breaking the rules by ranking Paul.
“This isn’t surprising, but it’s still wild,” they stated. “Just to be clear, rankings are supposed to be voted on by a panel, and the panel is supposed to be publicly available information.
“This is straight from the text of the Ali Act [said violation]. This seems to represent a flagrant violation.”
Another boxing scribe, Cliff Rold, said: “A reminder from the source: boxing rankings aren’t inherently merit-based.”
Mauricio Sulaiman comments
Further comments from fans don’t make for good reading. Through all the disgust, it was hard to find one person who agreed with Sulaiman.
“Mauricio is a confirmed sellout,” stated one.
Another added: “Beating Rahman Jr. gets you a ranking? This sport is so corrupt.”
A third said: “It’s actually kind of crazy how boxing commissions can and are willing to manipulate circumstances like this.
“Say what you want about the UFC but thank God something like this would never happen. You have actually to earn a ranking.”
Hasim Rahman Jr. stops the process of ranking Jake Paul
Yoel Judah, Rahman Jr.’s trainer, believes it won’t come to that, and Paul will be put back in his place.
“I see Rahman Jr. winning in the sixth round. He’s confident, and he’s doing everything by the book. He wants this fight. Jake made a big mistake,” urged Judah.
“We’ve been working on everything from movement to speed to stamina. We know he has really good punching power and legs.
“So, if we get good stamina, we know we are good.”
Judah concluded by pointing out Paul’s lack of skill in the boxing ring.
“The best thing about Jake Paul is he’s probably going to be in great shape. But you’re fighting a real boxer now.
“Good punching power and good combinations and someone who is not afraid of you and who is going to bring the fight to you.
“I’ve been with Hasim about four, five years. He’s right there. He’s where he’s supposed to be for this fight.
“I see him fighting for a world championship three years from now.”
The other way around
Many of Sulaiman’s detractors also asked whether Rahman would get a ranking if it were the other way around.
A good question and the number of social media followers certainly should not influence.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of Phil Jay.
WBN Editor Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. Furthermore, follow WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
