“Picked Another Semi Retired Fighter?”: Fans Slam Jake Paul for Picking 35-Year-Old Opponent for Puerto Rico Fight

“On Saturday, March 2, I will shock the world and put an end to Jake Paul’s boxing career.” Despite this claim from Ryan Bourland, the fans aren’t convinced that the 35-year-old has a chance against YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. On Tuesday, January 30, ‘The Problem Child’ and his MVP Promotions announced his next opponent for the upcoming fight on social media.

The fight will unfold on March 2 in the co-main event of Amanda Serrano vs. Nina Meinke at Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot, San Juan, Puerto Rico. ‘The Rhino’ Bourland has a 17-2 record and has only fought once in September 2022 since a win back in October 2018. Despite the massive gap in his resume, Paul lauded Bourland’s skills in his tweet announcing the opponent. 

Jake Paul wants to build a skillset by fighting Ryan Bourland

In a lengthy tweet, the Puerto Rico resident claimed, “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 [as] I do. Ryan ‘The Rhino’ Bourland.” Paul even added that he is taking the fight in Puerto Rico to build experience and express his love for the island. 

Whether the fight will help him step closer to becoming world champion is unclear, but it will help the local gyms. Paul claimed, “I’ll be donating my entire fight purse to my nonprofit Boxing Bullies to help renovate gyms across [Peurto Rico].” However, fans were too preoccupied with Paul’s choice of opponent to praise the good deed. So, they took to the comment section to criticize the move. 

Fans think Paul’s upcoming fight is a step down from Andre August

After 10-2-1 Andre August, everyone was hoping for an upgrade, but they got what people are claiming is a downgrade in the form of Ryan Bourland.

One user sarcastically suggested they had seen Bourland in Target. Notably, like August, Bourland is also an unknown boxer.

Another user claimed they were under the impression that Paul’s next opponent would have more KO wins under their belt. It’s worth noting that Bourland does have one KO win more than August. 

Someone else blatantly asserted that the opponent was a downgrade from August. Comparably, Bourland has a lot more experience than August, but the latter has a better KO ratio.

Also Read: All You Need to Know About Boxing Bullies, a Non-profit to Which Jake Paul Will Donate His Entire Purse From Next Fight

The next user highlighted Bourland’s spotty resume, claiming he has almost retired from the sport. Interestingly, many websites keeping track of boxing records deem Bourland inactive.

One user resorted to poking fun at Bourland by claiming he looked like a plumber the user had contacted before.

Jake Paul wants to become a world champion, and the path to his goal supposedly goes through Ryan Bourland! Despite that, fans deem Jake’s opponent nothing but a step-down. However, underdogs have a way of surprising everyone. Whether Bourland can do that is yet to be seen! Do you think Bourland has a shot? 

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