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Jake Paul needed less than three minutes to dispatch an overmatched opponent in Ryan Bourland as the social influencer turned boxer delivered another first-round knockout.
In what was touted as his toughest matchup to date, Paul essentially teed off on Bourland, who had only fought one time in the past five years but held a 17-2 record overall in his career. Paul established his jab early but Bourland offered almost nothing in return as he barely tossed out a few punches and decided to play defense instead.
That didn’t help matters much either as Paul kept slipping through to land his shots including a couple of punishing body blows that had Bourland on his heels. Paul stayed in pursuit until he trapped Bourland against the ropes and just started unloaded a barrage of shots in succession.
With Bourland covering up, Paul felt no fear of reprisal and he just blasted away with punches until his opponent finally crumbled with the referee rushing in to rescue him from further harm.
The end came at 2:37 in the opening round.
“I wanted it to be a little bit longer to give the fans some more time,” Paul said afterwards before channeling his best Ricky Bobby impression. “I couldn’t have done it without my team and like I was telling you backstage, if you’re not first you’re last. That’s just plain and simple. A little bit of shake and bake. Dodged his little punches and put his sorry ass on the floor. That’s just how we do it from Ohio.”
Paul addressed the lack of response he got from Bourland in those early exchanges as he kept launching combinations but his opponent was doing almost nothing in return.
“He was supposed to give it to me,” Paul said. “This guy has 19 fights, he was super experienced. I guess we have to step it up even way more. I’m ready. I’m ready for the big leagues.
“Hey ‘Canelo’ [Alvarez] stop ducking, I know you want it. It’s Puerto Rico vs. Mexico. I want ‘Canelo.’ I want all the biggest names. I’m the face of the sport. Who’s doing for boxing more than me? I keep on proving myself time and time again. The most followed boxer. The most viral KO’s period. That’s just facts. I’m here to stay. I’m a staple in this game. I really want all the smoke so whoever’s out there, let’s get it popping.”
It seems highly unlikely that Paul will land a fight with Alvarez but what exactly could be next for him?
Paul says his goal remains the same and that’s becoming a world champion so he’s determined to continue facing better and better competition.
That said, the 27-year-old star remains open to all offers — including potential fights against bigger names like he’s faced in the past such as Nick Diaz or Anderson Silva or perhaps another social influencer — but his main priority will still be more experienced boxers.
“We’ll see [who’s next],” Paul said. “It’s back to the drawing board. I don’t want to give anybody the attention because a lot of these guys don’t want to sign the contract, especially when I keep on doing s*** like this to all my opponents.
“I’m on the path to world champion. I want to keep on fighting tougher fights. If a money fight pops up, I’ll take it because those are fun. But for now I’m staying on the path of fighting real fighters and increasing the level of opposition.”
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