Jake Paul is a major name, known for social media and Disney Channel background before he moved to the boxing ring.
Vallejo’s Ryan Bourland is a big name around Solano County because of his boxing resume but a relative unknown in the social media world.
Those two worlds collide Saturday in San Juan, Puerto Rico when the two face off in a cruiserweight undercard. Many consider Bourland (17-2, six knockouts) the underdog against the relatively inexperienced but powerful Paul (8-1, five knockouts).
“He’s a strong guy, and I know he’s knocked some people out,” Bourland said by phone earlier this month. “He’s pretty new to boxing. I’m pretty experienced, but I know he’s very dedicated. It should be a good fight. He’s a strong dude.”
Vallejo’s Ryan Bourland, right, has been training with Mario L’Esperance in North Dakota in anticipation of his bout with Jake Paul on Saturday in Puerto Rico. (Contributed photo)
The 35-year-old Bourland said the arena in Puerto Rico sits about 18,000 fans and is expected to be a sellout. The bout will begin around 4 p.m. on the West Coast and will be televised on DAZN, a subscription streaming service.
Bourland, nicknamed “Rhino” has been living in North Dakota since 2018 and working long hours on the oil rigs.
“It’s a very physical, tough job,” he said. “It’s long hours and the weather is very extreme. Mentally and physically, it’s very tough work.”
Bourland got married in North Dakota and just bought a house in Dickinson, N.D. area.
“I moved out here for work, but I continued to fight out here,” he said. “I continued to train at the gym. I haven’t had that many fights here, but I had one about a year and a half ago.”
Bourland knocked out Santonio Martin in the fifth round at Four Bears Casino in his last fight in 2022. His last fight in Northern California was in 2018 when he beat Jose Hernandez in a 10-round rematch in a super middleweight bout at Cache Creek Casino.
“I moved out here for work, but I’m always training,” he said. “I’m always in the gym.”
Bourland even ran a 58-mile marathon in June of last year through the mountains.
He had heard that Paul knocked a guy out and planned to fight again in March but didn’t have an opponent. Bourland Googled his manager and found him on social media. After some back and forth, they sent over the contracts, and Bourland signed.
Mario L’Esperance, Bourland’s coach when he trained in Solano County, flew out to North Dakota about 4-5 weeks ago, and the two have been training together.
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Bourland has always been known for his aggressive nature, and he said that won’t change with this bout.
“I’m still going to do what I do, but I think we have a great game plan for the fight,” he said. “I’m going to keep my same style, but it will be a different game plan than other fights.”
Paul rose to fame when he played the role of Dirk Mann on the Disney Channel series “Bizaardvark” for two seasons. He is known around social media circles because of his own YouTube channel. He dabbled in Mixed Martial Arts before moving to boxing.
Bourland knows that some people were surprised that a relative unknown was picked to fight Paul, but that’s OK with him. He joked with FightsATW that he was going to get some shirts made that said, “Who the f*** is Ryan Bourland?”
Paul is age 27 and Bourland is 35, but “Rhino” doesn’t see that as a disadvantage.
“I don’t feel old,” he said. “I’m in great shape. I’ve always taken care of my body.”
