Jake Paul (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
A representative for Madison Square
Garden denied the boxing card headlined by YouTube star Jake Paul and
Hasim Rahman Jr., which was scheduled to take place at the arena on
Saturday, was canceled because of poor ticket sales.
“To be clear, sales were strong
heading into fight week—the cancellation was not based on ticket
sales,” the unnamed rep told Mike Heck of MMA Fighting on Thursday. “This
fight was projected to be in the top 10 of highest grossing boxing
events at MSG in the past 15 years.”
Speculation about the reasoning for the
cancellation began when UFC president Dana White spoke about the
issue at a UFC 277 press conference last weekend.
“I think they sold under a million
dollars in tickets, and it costs $500,000 to turn the f–king lights
on at MSG,” White told reporters. “That’s what I think. Not to
mention hotel rooms in New York and transportation and everything
else is very expensive.”
He also took a shot at Nakisa Bidarian,
Paul’s business partner and a former UFC employee.
“I will say this, just because you
were an accountant here doesn’t mean you know what the f–k goes on
here,” White said. “It doesn’t mean you can run a fight promotion
company.”
Paul’s company, Most Valuable
Promotions, previously stated calling off the fight was a result of
Rahman being unable to reach the contractually agreed upon weight
of 200 pounds or a compromise of 205 pounds offered by Paul, according to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi.
“MVP and Jake Paul will not reward
someone that has conducted themselves in such a deceiving and
calculated manner,” the statement said.
Rahman’s camp appeared to confirm that
was the reason for the cancellation, saying the best they could offer
was 215 pounds, and the 31-year-old boxer questioned why Paul wasn’t
willing to increase the weight when they previously sparred at 230
pounds, per Raimondi.
“If you beat me up while I was
230, what’s the problem fighting me at 215?” Rahman said.
“What’s the problem fighting me at 210? It’s clearly them not
wanting to fight. It’s not me pulling out of the fight.”
Rahman, who owns a 12-1 career record,
accepted the bout on short notice after Tommy Fury withdrew in early
July because of travel issues.
Meanwhile, Most Valuable Promotions
provided a statement to Jack Figg of The Sun saying the company is “evaluating multiple opponents for Jake Paul to return in October.”
Paul has won the first five fights of
his pro career with two victories over former UFC welterweight
champion Tyron Woodley along with triumphs against former MMA fighter
Ben Askren, former NBA guard Nate Robinson and fellow YouTuber Ali “AnEsonGib” Al-Fakri.
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