Jake Paul accused of “ducking” $30 million fight with UFC legend

Jake Paul has been accused of “ducking” a $30 million fight with UFC legend Vitor Belfort by Hasim Rahman Jr., who Jake was supposed to fight in August.

When Jake Paul revealed that he wanted to make his boxing return in August, fans only wanted to see him square off with one person – Tommy Fury. That fight fell through due to Fury’s troubles with entering the United States, though.

As a result, the call went out for a replacement, and Jake found one in the form of Hasim Rahman Jr. – a second-generation heavyweight boxer with a 12-1 record. Though, that fight fell through as the pro boxer failed to make the weight cuts required by the New York State Athletic Commission.

Jake’s planned return in August didn’t happen, but he will step into the ring in October against Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva. The YouTuber-turned-boxer has a history of fighting MMA stars, as he’s beaten Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley. Though, he also ‘ducked’ a fight with Vitor Belfort.

Jake Paul accused of being “scared” for not taking Vitor Belfort fight

That’s what Rahman Jr. believes anyway, as he is now scheduled to fight the former UFC star in the boxing ring – and he’s looking to prove a point to Jake against Belfort.

“It’s more so about proving a point of why ‘Fake Paul’ was scared,” Rahman told The Schmo on September 14. “He doesn’t want to fight Vitor, he declined that. They put $30 million on the table for them to fight, he didn’t want to take that, and then now he didn’t want to fight me.”

“These two guys that Jake is obviously ducking, obviously scared of, now we going to fight. No matter which way the fight goes, I don’t think Jake is going to be in a rush to get in the ring with either one of us.”

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While Jake hasn’t responded to Rahman’s new call-out, he previously stated that he turned down the Belfort fight because it didn’t “excite” him at the time.

Provided he beats Silva in October, and Belfort beats Rahman Jr, maybe it could be something for them to look into again. Though, there is no shortage of future opponents for Jake anyway.