Jake Paul Gives Injury Update, Boxing Return Timeline Amid Recovery From Broken Jaw

Having cast some doubt on his combat sports career earlier in the week, Jake Paul affirmed his plans to get back in the ring.

Paul said Saturday night during Most Valuable Promotions' MMA event that he has been cleared to start training again and will resume sparring in two to three months:

The 29-year-old suffered a broken jaw, which required multiple surgeries, during his knockout loss to Anthony Joshua last December. Appearing Monday on The Ariel Helwani Show, he said his fighting status was in flux, and he raised the possibility that he could be done altogether.

"I'm getting some new scans in a couple of days on the jaw to get an update on the healing process," he said. "We'll see what my doctors say. I think I'll be able to get a more accurate timeframe, or can I even fight again? That is definitely in the realm of possibility of things."

Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian told Bleacher Report's Doric Sam this week the hope is that Paul will compete toward the end of 2026. From there, a pivot to MMA could be on top.

Bidarian also made it clear that winning a boxing title remains an aspirational target for Paul.

"I think his most likely next fight will be at the cruiserweight level," Bidarian said. "He's 29, and he has a long road ahead of him, and he started late, relatively speaking. There was no amateur career, it isn't like he's already done 25 fights. So I think he's got a solid five to six years left in the sport, and that is definitely his prime goal, to be a cruiserweight champion."

Paul has once again floated Canelo Álvarez as a potential opponent and said he's willing to put up $200 million toward the venture. The two were in negotiations last year but failed to strike a bargain.

Given what will be a long layoff, Paul may instead settle on a lesser challenge in order to get himself back into fight shape before he targets a more decorated foe on par with Álvarez or Joshua.