- American heavyweight boxer Hasim Rahman Jr. fights Jake Paul August 6 on Showtime PPV.
- For boxing coach Yoel Judah, who trains Rahman, Paul has "bitten off more than he can chew."
LAS VEGAS — Hasim Rahman Jr. is being trained to bruise Jake Paul's eye, pop his eardrum, and break his ribs, boxing coach Yoel Judah told Insider.
The two boxers headline an August 6 event at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It will air on Showtime pay-per-view.
Paul puts his unbeaten novice record on the line against his toughest test to date — an actual heavyweight fighter trained for years in the sweet science.
For Judah, Paul has "bitten off more than he can chew" and is in for a world of pain when he engages a real boxer in an actual fight.
"It's going to be a hell of a fight, and we will be victorious," Judah said from the DLX Boxing Gym in Las Vegas.
Rahman is training as if Paul is a real boxer
Rahman's media workout on Tuesday suggested the boxer is taking his preparations for Paul quite seriously.
These training sessions typically offer a chance for reporters to meet combat athletes one final time before things like grueling weight cuts and normally, fighters simply stretch and go through a few punch routines with their padmen before fulfilling their media obligations.
Rahman's workout was different, though.
He got his hands wrapped like he was about to fight for real. He stretched for longer than most regular people work out, boxed numerous rounds with his padman, and then rattled off combinations on a speedbag.
—Al Dawson (@AlanDawsonSport) July 27, 2022
Judah intimated that this was all by design. "We've upped everything," he said. "Everything we did, we did another half hour, another 45 minutes of it extra. We up his power, his speed, running, his combinations, sparring. We upped everything, and that's what's gonna beat Jake Paul."
Rahman's team wants to give Paul a prolonged beating
To date, despite his 5-0 record, Paul is yet to fight an actual boxer.
He's defeated a fellow creator in AnEsonGib, the former basketball player Nate Robinson, and the retired MMA fighter Ben Askren. He's even fought the former UFC champion Tyron Woodley — and won. Twice.
Being the first boxer to take on Paul in a boxing-rules contest no less could be a double-edged sword.
Should Paul go the distance, yet lose, he could still claim a victory of sorts by claiming he survived all eight rounds.
If Rahman finished Paul in a lightning-quick fashion, he may not get much industry praise because there'd be an argument that the YouTuber was never an actual boxer all along.
But Judah told us Rahman's not particularly interested in a first or second-round finish.
"We're not sending Hasim in that ring to knock Jake out," said Judah. "We're sending him in to win rounds."
Knocking him out would be too easy, Judah said. Instead, they "want to bust him up."
"We'll bruise his eye, bust his lip, pop his eardrums. That's what we're going to do. We're going to break his ribs."
Finishing, Judah said: "Hasim's going to win."