Jake Paul's next opponent Hasim Rahman Jr is offended that boxing minds like Tim Bradley, Eddie Hearn and Dana White believe he will lose to the YouTube star next month.
The heavyweight boxer will make a massive cut to cruiserweight in order to take on Paul, with whom he sparred during the social media star's early professional career. Rahman Jr is a much bigger and more experienced fighter than Paul, but he has been written off by a number of famed combat sports minds who believe Paul has stacked the deck too well in his favour.
White questioned why Paul wasn't fighting the man who beat Rahman Jr in his last fight; Kenzie Morrison, although he refused to explicitly say that he believes the YouTuber will win. And Hearn claimed the American was an "alright opponent" for Paul, which has fuelled him heading into their August 6 fight date at Madison Square Garden.
"They don't annoy me," Rahman Jr told Ariel Helwani during an appearance on The MMA Hour last night. "It's just that I like to see the look on people's faces afterwards. Dana White's not the only person, there's a few whose faces I can't wait to see after I punish this kid, because they know better. Look at Tim Bradley, Eddie Hearn, Dana White just to name a few.
"Their faces are going to be like 'man, I knew it,' but that's not what you said so you need to stand on what you say after I punish this kid who has been in the ring six times. He's heard that bell ring for a fight six times."
Do you believe Hasim Rahman Jr will defeat Jake Paul? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
And Rahman Jr is surprised that people are questioning his ability on the back of his sole professional loss to Morrison earlier this year. He was having a solid fight until Morrison hurt him in the fifth and landed a stoppage, and believes he would have got the win if he treated his rival with enough respect.
Paul is currently a relatively strong bookie's favourite at 4/9 in some outlets. But Rahman Jr is unfazed, insisting that he pays little attention to betting lines as a non-gambler due to his Muslim faith.
"It's just mind-baffling [sic] to me that they're saying he's going to knock me out," he continued. "I don't gamble, I'm not a betting person so I don't care who's the favourite or who [bookmakers] think is going to win or whatever. I know that comes because I lost my last fight, where I admittedly took my opponent lightly, I didn't think Kenzie was as good as he was. If I hadn't, we would have had a different result."
