An opponent for Jake Paul’s next fight has been finalized.

The former YouTube star will face Ryan Bourland on March 2, it was announced Tuesday morning. The 10-round cruiserweight bout will take place at the Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico and will precede the main event bout between Ring Magazine featherweight champion Amanda Serrano and Nina Meinke.

Both fights will stream live on DAZN.

“I’ve always said my goal is to become a world champion,” said Paul. “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 (the) co-main to the Puerto Rican GOAT (greatest of all time), Amanda Serrano. I’m fighting for experience, not for the money.”

Paul (8-1, 5 knockouts), who is originally from Cleveland, Ohio and now trains in Dorado, Puerto Rico, scored a first round knockout over once-beaten Andre August on December 15. In his previous fight, Paul dropped former MMA champion Nate Diaz once en route to a unanimous decision victory. 

The 27-year-old has won those two fights since losing by split decision to Tommy Fury on February 26 of last year. 

Paul also announced that he will donate his entire purse from the Bourland fight to his non-profit Boxing Bullies, which will help renovate boxing gyms throughout Puerto Rico. 

Bourland does have boxing pedigree, as an amateur boxer and in the pro game. On paper, he is Paul’s most accomplished opponent to date.

The 35-year-old Bourland (17-2, 6 KOs) is purported to be a former Golden Gloves champ. Boxrec has just one of his amateur bouts listed on Boxrec, a decision loss to David Gutierrez in the preliminary round of the 2003 National Junior Olympics. A Facebook message to Bourland, as well as a text message to his manager Marlon Diaz seeking to clarify the year and location of his Golden Gloves title, as well as whether it came in the novice or open class division, was not responded to by the time of this story’s publication.

Bourland turned professional in October of 2013 and had announced his retirement in 2018 before returning nearly four years later. In his last fight in September 2022, Bourland stopped Santario Martin in the fifth round. Bourland has won his last three fights since a majority decision loss to Jose Hernandez in Brooks, California, not far from where he grew up in Vallejo. 

Bourland has fought in just one fight scheduled for ten rounds, which was a majority decision win in a rematch against Jose Hernandez in October of 2018. Both fighters weighed 170 pounds in this bout.

Bourland is confident he can pull off the upset victory over Paul.

“Jake Paul steps into the ring with his social media clout, but let’s not mistake followers for experience or skill,” said 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.”

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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