Jake Paul’s Boxing Comeback Scheduled for Christmas Eve

Jake Paul is set to step back into the boxing ring on Christmas Eve, just as Santa Claus prepares for his global journey, according to sources close to the situation. This match is planned to take place in Dubai, nearly one year after Paul suffered a broken jaw in a fight against Anthony Joshua. As of now, his opponent has not been finalized.

There’s been some buzz about a possible matchup with former UFC fighter Darren Till, but nothing has been confirmed at this stage.

Most Valuable Promotions, which is the promotional company behind Paul, has also reached out to various fighters, including Chris Eubank, Edgar Berlanga, and YouTuber KSI, as potential opponents for his return bout.

No agreement has yet been reached for the broadcasting of this fight, although reports suggest it will not be available on Netflix. Previously, two of Paul’s last three fights were streamed on Netflix—his match with Mike Tyson attractively drew 108 million viewers, while his fight with Joshua last year garnered 33 million.

There’s genuine speculation that Netflix may be pulling back on its live sports content, as evidenced by recent layoffs in its executive team, including the firing of Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria earlier this month. This seems to hint at a shift in their overall strategy.

It’s anticipated that Paul will likely fight on DAZN PPV, a platform he has used for three of his five previous non-Netflix bouts.

Coming back from a broken jaw after being TKO’d by Joshua, Paul’s upcoming fight seems to be planned at the cruiserweight limit of 200 pounds. However, it doesn’t really imply he will be matched against someone in that same weight class.

This isn’t the first time scheduling has gone awry for Paul. He was supposed to fight Gervonta Davis last year, but the bout fell through following Davis’s arrest.

In his last fight, Till weighed in at 190 pounds, winning against Yoel Romero in the Bare Knuckle Fight Championship this past September.

Meanwhile, Berlanga’s recent arrest on charges of misdemeanor felony aggravated battery and domestic battery raises serious questions about his involvement as a possible opponent for the Christmas Eve showdown.

While no official venue has been disclosed, the Coca-Cola Arena is considered a likely candidate, having already hosted a PFL event earlier this year.

Back in August, Paul indicated that he had plans to box this year and eventually transition to his MMA debut with his own MVP MMA promotion, which is set to merge with PFL in January. He has also hinted at a potential collaboration with renowned MMA fighter Royce Gracie.