Sparring Partner Says Paul Fighting Rahman Too Early

One look at Hasim Rahman Jr. and it’s easy to see why Jake Paul could be biting off more than he can chew when the two meet inside of the boxing ring on Aug. 6 live pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Rahman Jr., who is filling in on short notice for Tommy Fury, boasts one of the best boxing skillsets Paul has encountered to date. The son of a former heavyweight world champion Rahman is a sizeable step up in competition for “Problem Child.” Fury was expected to give Paul a run for his money as well, but Rahman’s size and experience could provide even more issues.

Paul’s sparring partner, Anthony Taylor, doesn’t know if now is the best time for the social media star to push his limits inside of the ring. According to Taylor, Paul shouldn’t be fighting Rahman for at least another few fights.

“Hasim Rahman Jr. is very experienced. Jake is my boy, but this is very tough for him,” Taylor told Vegas Insider. “Hasim is a fighter Jake should be taking on ten fights into his career, not this early. He should be fighting Hasim when he’s 10-0, not 5-0. He’s taking five steps forward. Hasim is a much tougher fight than Tommy Fury would have been.

“Tommy has no pedigree or amateur background like Hasim does. Hasim would be the perfect fight in five fights time,” he said. “So you have to give Jake credit, he wants to prove people wrong and I think he can do it. He can outpoint this guy, he’ll prove people wrong. It’s a big risk when you talk about losing your undefeated record. If Jake loses, then that’s just one lost on his record, a lot of great fighters had losses on their record. Not everybody can be a Mayweather.”

Paul, 25, has tried to push the envelope each and every time he steps inside of the ring. Sure his first few professional fights came against former pro athletes that have no business being in the ring, but Paul has put in the work over the last few years to hone his boxing skills best he can. This was on full display this past December when “Problem Child” knocked out former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley with one punch.

That said, Rahman is no slouch inside of the ring. The 31-year-old is 12-1 as a professional boxer with six equally-impressive knockouts. He is a former training partner of Paul’s and has a good idea of what the social media influencer will bring when they collide early next month. If Paul is able to get past all of that and claim his sixth-straight win there will be little to question about his growing boxing potential.