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Jake Paul to return to boxing on Christmas Eve in Dubai

Summarised from 6 outlets · 7 reports · Updated 29 Oct, 11:41 · Archive

Jake Paul will fight in Dubai on 24 December, his first bout since Anthony Joshua broke his jaw in December 2025.

Jake Paul will return to professional boxing on Christmas Eve in Dubai, marking his first fight since suffering a broken jaw in his loss to Anthony Joshua. The bout will take place on 24 December at a Most Valuable Promotions event, with an opponent yet to be officially confirmed.

Paul, aged 29, suffered a double broken jaw when he was stopped in the sixth round by former heavyweight champion Joshua in Miami on 19 December 2025. He underwent multiple surgeries and had titanium plates fitted, with some teeth removed. In May, Paul said his boxing career was "most definitely" in doubt, and he told Ariel Helwani that never boxing again was "definitely in the realm of possibility".

Several fighters are understood to be in contention to face Paul. The New York Post reports that former UFC fighter Darren Till has been closely linked to the fight, though it is not a done deal. Other names mentioned include former UFC fighters Francis Ngannou and Alistair Overeem, Britain's Chris Eubank Jr, WBC welterweight world champion Ryan Garcia, and YouTuber KSI. The Daily Mail reports that Paul is understood to want Overeem to lose a significant amount of weight before they could agree to fight.

Paul's professional record stands at 12-2. His two defeats have come against Tommy Fury and Joshua. He has won seven fights by knockout, including victories over Mike Tyson in November 2024 and against several former UFC fighters including Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley, Mike Perry and Nate Diaz.

Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder and CEO of Most Valuable Promotions, said Paul is returning purely from love of the sport. "I would tell you that we would never consider Jake Paul coming back to boxing unless his love and motivation for boxing was the same – if not more – than what it was before the Anthony Joshua fight," Bidarian told the Independent. "Jake is, thank God, in a very fortunate financial position where he doesn't need to do boxing to make it all make sense." Bidarian added that Paul "is excited to come back, he's excited to entertain, and he's excited to continue on his journey of proving to the world that he is a remarkable, one-of-a-kind story."

Paul said in his own statement: "I've spent years proving people wrong, taking risks, and pushing myself against opponents nobody thought I'd face. Nothing that's happened has changed my belief in myself or what I'm working toward. I'm hungrier than ever." He added that Dubai "is a city that thinks big, breaks boundaries, and doesn't believe in limits. That's exactly the kind of place I want to make my comeback."

The New York Post reports that no broadcast deal has yet been agreed for the return bout, though it will not be streamed on Netflix. Two of Paul's last three fights were on Netflix, with his bout against Mike Tyson garnering 108 million viewers and the Joshua bout receiving 33 million. The Post reports that the most likely scenario is that Paul will fight on DAZN PPV, as he has done in three of his last five bouts that were not on Netflix. The BBC reports that Bidarian told the Sun that an opponent would be finalised in the coming weeks.

Jake Paul to return to boxing on Christmas Eve in Dubai
Image: Fox News

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In this story: Jake Paul · Anthony Joshua · Darren Till · Most Valuable Promotions · Nakisa Bidarian · Dubai

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log