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Jake Paul Plans to “Step Back” to Find Better Opponents After Criticism Following Ryan Bourland TKO Win

Published 03/04/2024, 11:54 AM EST

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Has Jake Paul powered through his boxing career only by choosing easy opponents? In the wake of his dominant fight against inactive boxer, Ryan Bourland, the fighter’s choice of opponents has been called into question. In response to these critics, the ‘Problem Child’ has a detailed explanation.

One would believe that the 27-year-old fighter has no qualms about the fighters he’s gone against in his nascent but glamorous boxing career. However, after he defeated Bourland in a first-round technical knockout, he too grappled with some prominent questions. Are fighters like Ryan Bourland and Andre August the right path for Jake Paul in his journey toward a championship fight?

Jake Paul claims he was deceived by Ryan Bourland’s record

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On the BS w/ Jake Paul podcast, the Dorado, Puerto Rico-based fighter, sat down with his brother, Logan Paul, to discuss his ambitious San Juan card. The event did not go as well as he had planned, and incurred multiple hurdles including his headliner, Amanda Serrano, having her fight canceled at the last moment owing to an exposed cornea. Reflecting on these, his older brother questioned if Bourland was a tactically chosen opponent.

In response, the influencer-turned-boxer, noted, “I guess on paper, he’s supposed to be, you know, like his record, his background, a three-time Golden Gloves champion. And then, yeah, he just comes under-prepared or I’m sharper than these guys… So, I think we really need to take a step back and like assess the level of opposition but that’s what we’re doing here is getting the experience under lights and building my career and seeing where the levels are.”

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For the younger Paul brother, his ultimate aim is a championship fight. However, to get to that, he needs to undertake some serious shifts in his trajectory. His choosing pro-boxers over cross-sports opponents is one of these strategies. Nevertheless, Jake Paul agrees that he needs to look out for tougher opponents going ahead if he wants others to take him seriously as a boxer.

If Jake Paul did not choose Ryan Bourland based on his weaknesses, what is the strategy that the fighter employs when he’s selecting his opponents?

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The Problem Child is disappointed by his Ryan Bourland fight

In his conversation about fighting weaker opponents, Paul revealed that he might not have hit the nail in choosing opponents. While he thought that getting tougher opponents with each fight would be his map toward the title fights, that has now backfired.

He noted, “Okay, this guy, 10 and one, Andre August, one round. Let’s go with a guy who has twice as many fights. One young. Okay, you know, maybe we need to go somewhere else and figure out who could be a tougher fight for me. Because that is what I want on the path to world championship. I need those hard experience rounds and you know, these guys aren’t able to give it to me, so I’m a little disappointed, obviously.”

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Amongst the ten opponents Paul has fought in his career, Tommy Fury, who gave him his sole loss stands out. He remains the one who’s given him a fight tougher than anyone. Does Paul need to pick opponents like the British fighter? What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Written by:

Mohammed Shafiulla

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Gokul Pillai