Son-of-a-legend Hasim Rahman Jr has rocketed to the top of Jake Paul's shortlist of opponents to replace Tommy Fury.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer has given Fury a deadline of tomorrow morning to prove he can make it to America for their August 6 fight date. And if that isn't met, he will be replaced with one of three shortlisted fighters, with the son of former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman Paul's ideal pick.
Paul has been training for months to face 8-0 Fury in what would be his first fight against a 'legitimate boxer'. But the Brit was denied access to his flight to New York days before their scheduled press conference last week.
And Mirror Fighting understands Rahman is viewed as Paul's first choice to replace the Love Island runner-up. The new name is being lined up alongside an official confirmation that the Fury fight at Madison Square Garden is off, in the hope of keeping excitement alive for the pay-per-view event.
Rahman Jr would fit easily into the marketing plan for Paul vs Fury given his family ties to a heavyweight champion and his status as a 'real boxer'. He holds a 12-1 record as a professional with wins over three opponents who had winning records while he also faced former heavyweight world champion Trevor Bryan as an amateur.
That would make him arguably a tougher challenge on paper than Fury, whose brother is world heavyweight champion Tyson, but his following pales in comparison to the Love Island star.
Paul's Most Valuable Promotions have been teasing a change of opponent on Instagram, noting the sixth opponents of Canelo Alvarez, Floyd Mayweather and Gervonta Davis and their meagre records. They said "Let's see how fans react to Jake Paul's opponent for his sixth pro fight."
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Unfortunately, 31-year-old Rahman is a relatively big heavyweight, who has tipped the scales as heavy as 269lb and most recently weighed 224lb for his fight with James Morrisson in April. Mirror Fighting understands he would struggle to make cruiserweight with a full camp, let alone on a month's notice, which could be a sticking point for the deal.
His brother Sharif, also a professional with a 6-0 record, has been teasing fans on social media about the announcement, without naming his sibling. He has heavily implied that Rahman will be handed the shot, such as teasing the opponent as a heavyweight and that they are just over 30 years of age.
Paul and Rahman have been friendly in the past, and sparred together when the YouTuber was preparing for his second professional fight against Nate Robinson. Rahman Sr is best known for his upset win over unified world champion Lennox Lewis when he knocked out the Brit in 2001.
He went on to lose the rivals' rematch seven months later before losing to Evander Holyfield the following year. He went on to lose further world title challengers to Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin before retiring in 2014.
