Jake Paul Cleared to Fight, Sets Sights on Boxing's Elite

Jake Paul, the 29-year-old boxer with a 12-2 record and seven knockouts, has officially been medically cleared to return to the boxing ring.

This news comes after Paul suffered a broken jaw during his knockout loss to Anthony Joshua last December.

He underwent surgical procedures on his jaw in December and February to address the injury. His status was officially updated by Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of Paul's Most Valuable Promotions, who announced the clearance on X.

Paul had previously informed ESPN in April that he had resumed light training but was awaiting full clearance for sparring. He is now targeting a full return to competition in early 2027. In conjunction with this health update, Paul also revealed his latest wish list of potential opponents for future fights.

This extensive list includes 15 names, featuring prominent boxers like Canelo Alvarez, Ryan Garcia, Francis Ngannou, and Deontay Wilder. Additionally, Paul expressed interest in mixed martial arts contests against Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz.

The comprehensive wish list, which Paul shared on X, also includes other notable names such as UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland, KSI, Chris Eubank, Edgar Berlanga, and Tom Aspinall for boxing, as well as a mention of a "Midget who ruined our fight" and a "World Title."

Strickland (31-7) recently linked himself to Paul through a series of online posts, expressing his frustration with his current UFC contract.

He wrote on X, "I gotta be honest, unless things change with the UFC I'm kinda over it. McGregor makes 30 million to fight for 30 seconds and they don't want to pay us a fraction of it. Contemplating just going to 205 [pounds], knocking out my contract and scrapping with [Jake Paul]. That sounds fun."

Jake Paul, along with MVP, has been a vocal advocate for increased fighter pay within the UFC for several years. He acknowledged Strickland's post with a direct response: "Sean Strickland I see your texts but are you out of contract? Tell your 'promoter' to call MVP."

The developments were reported by Brett Okamoto, who has covered mixed martial arts and boxing for ESPN since 2010.

Okamoto has covered major combat sports events and conducted in-depth interviews with figures such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Floyd Mayweather, and also served as a producer for the 30 for 30 film "Chuck and Tito."