Jake Paul will make the next step to achieve his goal of being a boxing world champion by taking on Ryan Bourland. The bout will serve as the co-main event of a boxing card on March 2 at El Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan. In the feature bout of the evening, Amanda Serrano will defend her IBF, WBO, and WBA featherweight titles against Nina Meinke. The event will air on the DAZN streaming service.
The fight was announced on Tuesday by Paul.
The goal is simple, build the skillset to become world champion. Next up is a guy who has twice as many professional fights under his belt than I do. Ryan “The Rhino” Bourland. And just like the animal in his bone chilling nickname… he is also endangered😂😅
On Saturday, March… pic.twitter.com/CzhHTx9tsC
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) January 30, 2024
Jake Paul‘s most recent fight took place in December when he knocked out the unbeaten Andre August in the first round. This was his first bout outside his routine of strictly entertainment-based fights and the second against someone with authentic boxing credentials.
The former Youtuber entered the boxing world in 2018 by fighting another social media personality, Deji Olatunji. He secured a TKO win in the fifth round. Paul made his professional boxing debut back in 2020. Once again he fought a fellow Youtuber, AnEsonGib. And like before, he secured a TKO win, but this time in the very first round. During the same year, he took on and defeated NBA player, Nate Robinson by a second-round knockout.
What came next is probably the best well-known chapter in Paul’s boxing career as he decided to square off against MMA veteran, Ben Askren. The former Olympian announced his retirement from MMA competition after a mild UFC stint back in 2019. He accepted Paul’s challenge for a boxing match seeing it as an easy payday. However, Paul managed to knock him out in the first outing.
This grabbed the attention of the entire MMA community. Tyron Woodley, a former UFC welterweight champion was next in line for Paul. The two of them fight the entirety of eight rounds with Paul being awarded a split decision win afterward. Woodley demanded a rematch, but Paul had his sight set on Tommy Fury. Unfortunately, the Englishman withdrew from a fight and Woodley stepped in as a late replacement. This time Paul knocked him out in the sixth round.
Under the criticism of fans, other promoters, and boxing and MMA personalities to step up in competition, Jake Paul took on Anderson Silva. Despite the huge age gap the Brazilian was considered to be a favorite to win thanks to his striking skills and having some boxing experience of his own. Paul continued his winning streak by getting a unanimous decision win after an eight-round scrap.
Almost a year ago Paul finally crossed paths with Tommy Fury, the brother of the boxing world heavyweight champion Tyson. Their bout in Saudi Arabia ended with an Englishman taking a split decision win.
Jake Paul bounced back by beating another MMA superstar, Nate Diaz. Both fighters were in a state of war of words for some time and after Diaz left the UFC due to a contract dispute, the bout could finally take place in 2023. Despite some solid boxing skills, the younger of the Diaz brothers was bested by Paul, who took the unanimous decision win.
After that, Jake Paul switched his attention to more legitimate opponents in terms of boxing. He started with his knockout win over Andre August and now looks to continue his quest to the boxing world championship by squaring off against Ryan Bourland. “The Rhino” has a professional boxing record of 17 – 2 and won his last three fights. Most recently he knocked out Santario Martin on September 17, 2022.
