World Boxing News understands that Jake Paul could face a grilling from the New York State Athletic Commission following bribery allegations.
MMA fighter Dillon Danis made shocking allegations of Paul and his team offering money to Hasim Rahman if he threw their fight.
Danis took to social media to announce his alleged conversation with someone inside Paul’s training preparations.
Jake Paul bribe
He said: “I heard from inside the camp of Jake Paul that his manager and team tried to pay Hasim Rahman to take a dive, but they rejected it.
“So then Jake Paul’s team made up an excuse to pull out of the fight.”
If these claims are valid, the NSAC will have to launch an investigation to fully get to the bottom of the allegations made by Danis.
Paul stated the fight with Rahman got called off over the heavyweight, making weight for the cruiserweight bout.
The pair were due to battle at Madison Square Garden on August 6. However, Paul had sold only a fraction of the 20,000 tickets.
Weight problem
Most Valuable Promotions stated: “Since weighing in at 216 pounds on July 7, Rahman and his camp have offered assurance after assurance publicly. They said privately that he was on track to make weight at the weigh-in on August 5.
“He went as far as to provide a letter signed by a recognized nutritionist that his weight cut was progressing without issue. This face came per New York State Athletic Commission’s required weekly weight checks.
“In the last 48 hours, it has become clear that these assurances were not made in good faith.”
They continued: “On Friday, Rahman submitted a weight check to the New York State Athletic Commission. He demonstrated he had lost less than one pound since initially signing to take the fight 24 days prior.
“This prompted the commission to declare that it would not sanction the fight at less than 205 pounds.
“Still, Jake Paul was prepared to move forward with the fight at this new weight. A new contract was sent to Rahman’s promoter reflecting a 205-pound limit, imposing strict penalties should he fail to make weight.
“Upon receiving this new contract Saturday morning, Rahman’s camp indicated for the very first time that he planned to weigh 215 pounds at the official weigh-in.
“He would not agree to weigh in at 205 pounds. Rahman informed Most Valuable Promotions that they were pulling out of the fight unless the fight was agreed to at 215 pounds.
Deception
“MVP and Jake Paul will not reward someone that has conducted themselves in such a deceiving and calculated manner. Therefore, MVP is left with no choice but to cancel the August 6 event.
“This forced outcome impacts Jake Paul, Amanda Serrano, and other fighters on this card which have trained tirelessly over the past few months for this event.
“The boxing community must hold Hasim Rahman Jr. liable for his lack of professionalism. There has been endless work, time, and money put into building this event.
“We want to thank our team, Showtime, Madison Square Garden, and Holden Boxing. All of our partners for their continued support.
“Above everything, we want to thank our fans for their commitment to the athletes and the sport of boxing.”
New York Commission investigation
Branding Rahman with a ‘lack of professionalism’ brush when Danis is alleging even worse from Paul, and his team seems hypocritical at this point.
New York chiefs will have to investigate thoroughly to ensure nothing untoward was going on from the side of the YouTuber before the NSAC can levy any sanctions on Rahman.
It’s certainly not the last we’ve heard from the Paul vs Rahman debacle.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of Phil Jay.
WBN Editor Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
