The face of celebrity boxing, Jake Paul, returns to take on challenger Ryan Bourland in an eight-round cruiserweight bout. The fight takes place on March 2 at Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Paul needs no introduction, he’s translated his following from YouTube and social media to the combat industry. Throughout his young career, Paul battled retired UFC stars like Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva, and Nate Diaz. As of late, “The Problem Child” is attempting to win over the boxing community by taking on actual semi-professional fighters. His last opponent Andre August had solid ring experience but it didn’t stop him from a first-round KO loss.
Bourland becomes the latest fighter to enter the Paul circus and comes in with a 17-2 record. The 35-year-old out of California returned to the professional scene in 2022, winning by 5th-round TKO over Santario Martin. This will be his first fight since and like August, he is somewhat of an overaged rusty challenger.
Paul has become a free promo for any fighter, but this bout once again seems like an attempt to demonstrate he has what it takes to face off against a real boxer. Nonetheless, let’s dive into what payouts could be for this one.
Jake Paul-Ryan Bourland purse
Purse numbers for this fight have not been announced, but several sources have confirmed Paul will donate his share to Boxing Bullies, his non-profit devoted to ending bullying. The money will be set aside to build and finance the creation of boxing gyms across the Puerto Rico area. A noble gesture to say the least.
The 27-year-old influencer reportedly took home $5-7 million from his fight against August in December and this time around it’s expected he gets around the same amount. Paul also walked away with a reported $5 million before PPV sales in his fight against Nate Diaz in August 2023.
For Bourland, he may get a similar share of the reported $2 million August received in the December bout. For a fighter who took breaks during his career, a payday with this type of magnitude is hard to turn down.
We’ll see what type of fight these two present as Paul is an overwhelming betting favorite with -2500 odds to win while Bourland has +1300 underdog odds, according to Draftkings Sportsbook.