According to Jake Paul (5-0, 4 KOs), the New York State Athletic Commission rejected a number of proposed opponents when Tommy Fury was pulled two weeks ago.
Paul is scheduled to return to the ring on August 6th at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
He was initially set to fight Fury, who was pulled from the contest after being unable to enter the United States.
Paul would eventually reach an agreement with heavyweight prospect Hasim Rahman Jr. (12-1, 6 KOs).
Rahman will be the first boxer that Paul will face in the squared circle. Paul's wins as a boxer came against a Youtuber, a retired NBA star and two MMA veterans.
Rahman, with nearly 100 amateur fights and several tournament wins in the unpaid ranks, is a big step up in class.
Some of the late replacements rejected by the NYSAC were MMA fighters.
On the other hand, the commission began to worry about Paul's health and inexperience when his team presented the names of boxers. Paul's handlers eventually convinced the NYSAC to approve Rahman.
Rahman, who fights at heavyweight and is noticeably bigger than Paul, will drop down to 200-pounds for the eight round bout. He can't weigh more than 215 at the second-day weigh-in.
"They [the NYSAC] drove it a lot," Paul told Morning Kombat. "There were certain names that they wouldn't approve, mostly MMA fighters. Then we were like 'alright we need a professional boxer'. But it sort of reversed because they were like 'we don't know if we're going to approve Jake for this'.
"They were just like everyone, this is a high-risk fight. This is insane, this is psychotic, no boxer is taking chances like this as early on in their career."
