Jake Paul match at Madison Square Garden called off over Hasim Rahman's weight issues

The Jake Paul vs. Hasim Rahman Jr. fight scheduled for Aug. 6 has been canceled because of actions that the promotion is calling “deceiving and calculated.”

According to Most Valuable Promotions, Rahman did not maintain his weight in an honest fashion and requested multiple times that the bout be shifted to a heavier weight class. Boxing Scene was first to report the news Saturday.

“MVP and Jake Paul will not reward someone that has conducted themselves in such a deceiving and calculated manner,” a Saturday news release reads.

The cancellation comes one week before the bout was scheduled to take place at Madison Square Garden in New York.

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The promotion claimed Rahman originally agreed to a 200-pound cruiserweight bout and provided proof to the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) that he weighed 216 pounds on July 7.

“In the last 48 hours, it has become clear that these assurances were not made in good faith,” the promotion said.

It added Rahman has only lost one pound since his July 7 weigh-in. The promotion offered a new 205-pound contract weight, but decided to cancel the bout after Rahman’s camp demanded 215 pounds, MVP claims. At that point, the bout, and event as a whole, was called off. Tickets and pay-per-view purchases will be refunded.

“The forced outcome impacts Jake Paul, Amanda Serrano and every other fighter on this card who have trained tirelessly over the past few months for this event,” the release said. “The boxing community must hold Hasim Rahman Jr. liable for his lack of professionalism.

"There has been endless work, time and money put into building this event and we want to thank our team, Showtime, Madison Square Garden, Holden Boxing and all our partners for their continued support. Above everything we want to thank our fans for their commitment to the athletes and the sport of boxing.”

Paul was originally set to face Tommy Fury, who was forced to pull out. The YouTube star-turned boxer than moved on to Rahman, the son of the former heavyweight champion who had fought entirely at heavyweight in his 13 pro bouts, weighing as much as 278 pounds.

The card was also to include women's star Amanda Serrano defending her featherweight title.

Contributing: Associated Press