Jake Paul goes up against Ryan Bourland live from José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Saturday, March 2. The pair squares off in the co-feature on the card headlined by Amanda Serrano vs Nina Meinke. The bout is scheduled for eight rounds at cruiserweight.
Jake Paul (8-1, 5 KOs) is coming off the win by knockout in the first round against Andre August last December. In August 2023, Cleveland’s 27-year-old earned a unanimous decision against former UFC star Nate Diaz. With the victory, he returned to winning ways, after suffering his first career defeat by split decision against Tommy Fury last February.
“I’ve always said my goal is to become a world champion,” Jake Paul said. “I beat a pro boxer in December in the first round, someone who’s been boxing their entire life, and what did I do next? I went straight back to camp to get ready to face my next opponent, a professional boxer who has twice as many professional fights under his belt than I do. It’s a new year, it’s an even better me, and I’m facing an even more experienced, seasoned boxer on Saturday, March 2 as co-main to the Puerto Rican ‘GOAT’, Amanda Serrano.”
“I’m fighting for experience, not for the money, and to show my love for this beautiful island I’ll be donating my entire fight purse from this event to my nonprofit ‘Boxing Bullies’ to help renovate gyms across Puerto Rico.”
Announced as “Paul’s toughest match to date”, Ryan Bourland (17-2, 6 KOs) is a Golden Gloves champion, who is riding a three-fight winning streak as a pro. The 35-year-old last fought in September 2022, when he stopped Santario Martin in the fifth round. The outing marked his first ring appearance after four years of absence. In October and June 2018, the Martinez, California native defeated Jose Hernandez and Codale Ford by majority decision and unanimous decision, respectively. In February the same year, he dropped a majority decision against Jose Hernandez.
“Jake Paul steps into the ring with his social media clout, but let’s not mistake followers for experience or skill,” said Ryan Bourland. “While he’s been busy chasing likes, I’ve been honing my craft for years, stepping into the ring and beating real boxers. On Saturday, March 2 I will shock the world and put an end to Jake Paul’s boxing career.”
In the main event, Puerto Rico’s former undisputed featherweight champion Amanda Serrano (46-2-1, 30 KOs) faces Nina Meinke (18-3, 4 KOs) of Germany. The world championship bout is scheduled for 12 rounds with Serrano’s unified WBA, WBO and IBF 126-pound titles on the line.
Also on the card, Puerto Rican Jonathan Gonzalez (27-3-1, 14 KOs) of The Bronx, New York makes the third defense of his WBO light flyweight title against Rene Santiago (12-3, 9 KOs) of Humacao, Puerto Rico. As well, Krystal Rosado-Ortiz (2-0, 1 KOs) goes through the ropes in front of her local crowd in a four-round super flyweight bout against Gloria Munguilla (5-0) of Los Angeles. In addition, Javon Walton (1-0, 1 KOs) of Atlanta, Georgia fights an opponent to be named in a four-round bout at featherweight.