Jake Paul has been cleared to return to boxing, according to Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian, who announced it on X while quote-posting a wish list of opponents from Paul.
Bidarian wrote that Paul “has been cleared to return to the boxing ring.” Paul’s own post, sent Wednesday night, opened with “Before I rest…” and then named Canelo Alvarez, Francis Ngannou, Conor McGregor (boxing and MMA), Sean Strickland, Darren Till, Ryan Garcia, KSI, Chris Eubank, Edgar Berlanga, Tom Aspinall (boxing), Deontay Wilder and Nate Diaz (MMA). He also listed an unnamed opponent he blames for ruining a previous fight and a world title, and told Bidarian to “make it happen.”
Neither post says who cleared Paul or whether the clearance covers sparring or an actual fight.
A long road back from the Joshua fight
Paul has not fought since Anthony Joshua stopped him in the sixth round on December 19 in Miami, breaking his jaw in two places. He needed a second surgery in February, and in May he told Ariel Helwani that his boxing career could be over. Days later he said a doctor had cleared him to resume sparring within two to three months, and in July he told Pat McAfee he expected official sparring clearance within weeks.
Paul, now 12-2 as a pro, said in September he hoped to be back in the ring at the end of this year or early next year, with talks underway with a couple of opponents. He also wants to start in MMA within 12 months through MVP’s merger with the PFL.
The names with history
Strickland floated leaving the UFC in May to fight Paul, after Forbes ranked Paul No. 23 among the world’s highest-paid athletes at $70 million. He had just won back the UFC middleweight title when he said it. Paul previously told ESPN that McGregor was “fried” and off his list, so McGregor’s return, in both boxing and MMA, is a reversal.
Alvarez is the name Paul has chased longest, and he once claimed to have $200 million ready for the fight. Alvarez is booked to face Christian Mbilli on October 31 in Riyadh. The list leaves out Joshua and Tommy Fury, the only two men to beat Paul as a pro, and World Boxing News flagged Wilder, Ngannou and Aspinall as heavyweight punchers who would pose real risk to a repaired jaw.
