Jake Paul returns to the ring with next opponent named after brutal jaw injury

Just months after having reconstructive surgery on a jaw injury sustained in a bout with Anthony Joshua, Jake Paul has stepped back inside the boxing ring for the first time and outlined his next fight.

Jake Paul, who made his fame through YouTube content creation, shattered his jaw in a career-ending fight with AJ back in December 2025, leaving his face to be plated and reconstructed with metal rods.

Despite being advised by his doctor to never get back into the ring, Paul remains committed to defying the odds and proving that he has what it takes to make it as a serious boxer, not just an entertainer.

Yet his proposed return to the sport has worried a lot of long-term boxing fans and pundits, with Tyron Woodley going as far as to say that he has a 'screw loose' to risk a life-changing injury.

But Paul has now been pictured back in the ring, while his manager has claimed that he will be back in action next month and wants a popular rematch.

Jake Paul to begin sparring in September with Tommy Fury rematch hopes

After being out of boxing for eight months, Jake Paul was pictured dancing in the ring at BP Pulse LIVE Arena in Birmingham following Yessin Koulali's win over Neeraj Goyat.

The fight aired on Sky Sports on a different card to the Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic bout, but Paul wasted no time in showing off his footwork and moves alongside Koulali.

Clearly moving well after his injury, Paul is now targeting a return to contact sport in just a few weeks' time.

According to Nakis Bidarian, CEO and co-founder of Paul's promotion company MVP, sparring begins imminently.

"He's cleared to spar in a couple of weeks, mid-September," Bidarian told talkSPORT.

"The goal is to have him back at the end of this year. Will it slip to January? Maybe.

"That's not driven by his ability to fight. That's just driven by business and schedules and venues, etc.

"But he will be back, and he's champing at the bit to get back in the boxing ring."

As for who he will fight, Bidarian says that a familiar foe in Tommy Fury is at the top of the priority list.

"The most appropriate opponent and the opponent that makes the most sense is Tommy Fury," he added.

"His representatives just have to help us make a sensible deal. Tommy's had a number of fights since Jake, and he's never made anything close to what they're asking for.

"So it's either you wanna fight Jake, and you understand we're trying to pay you a lot of money. But it has to make business sense, or you don't. I believe Tommy wants to fight Jake, and I believe the fight will happen, but we obviously have other fighters we're talking to as well.

"And for Jake, if it's not Tommy, it's fine. Jake is the biggest draw globally by any metric, so we're okay."

Paul is not short of opponents who fancy a shot at the cash-grab bout that he offers. If Fury doesn't want the fight, recent reports suggest another British boxing icon wants to take his place.