Tonight (Sat., Mar. 2, 2024), for the first time in his professional career, Jake Paul plays second fiddle, battling 10-year veteran Ryan Bourland in the co-feature of seven-division champion Amanda Serrano’s title defense against Nina Meinke.
Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot also plays host to Light Flyweight champion Jonathan “Bomba” Gonzalez’s latest title defense against fellow Boricua Rene Santiago, the return of former title challenger Christopher “Pitufo” Diaz, and undefeated prospects Elijah Flores and Krystal Rosado-Ortiz.
His name isn’t on top of the bill, but Paul is still the biggest name here among casual observers. Let’s see how he’ll do.
THE FIGHT
The good news is that footage exists of Bourland’s third-most recent fight against 5-7 Codale Ford. The bad news is that said fight took place nearly six years ago. “Rhino” sat out from October 2018 to September 2022, then from September 2022 to now.
Thus, all I can really say about Bourland is that he looks pretty good if his opponent doesn’t punch, move, or really know how to box.
None of those descriptors apply to Paul, who is also 10 pounds bigger than anyone Bourland’s fought since his debut. Add that to the fact that he has a one-punch knockout on his record and, well, let’s just say I don’t expect a particularly long evening.
I appreciate the fact that Paul is going out of his way to fight people whose primary job descriptor is “boxer” as opposed to “YouTuber,” “basketball player,” or “mixed martial artist.” Hopefully the next step is “boxer capable of even testing him.” Hell, I’d settle for “actual Cruiserweight.”
Alas, what we’ve got is “victim.”
Prediction: Paul def. Bourland by first-round knockout
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of Jake Paul vs. Ryan Bourland right here. The DAZN broadcast kicks off at 7:00 p.m. ET, with Paul and Bourland likely to make the walk around 9:00 p.m. ET.