Of late, Jake Paul has been making news, which for the most part has had little to do with boxing or, for that matter, fighting. From a potential crossover to football to buying another fight promotion, the YouTuber-turned-fighter continues to draw attention.

Still, despite his regular media presence, questions surrounding his fighting career linger. Is there any update on when Jake Paul would likely make a return, or does he have any plans to make a comeback at all? During a recent visit to the New York Stock Exchange, where he met popular trader Peter Tuchman, Paul dropped a few hints.

“I’m taking some time off. I’m letting my jaw heal from the last fight,” he told Tuchman, also known as the Einstein of Wall Street. “I have all the plates out. I’m probably gonna fight in December of this year.”

That’s the most specific timeline Paul has offered yet, and it caps off a recovery that’s shifted repeatedly since his brutal knockout loss to Anthony Joshua last December. Coming off wins over Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Paul had initially planned a boxing exhibition against then-lightweight champion and superstar Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

But the plan derailed after the Baltimorean found himself amid legal challenges. As a result, Paul was forced to look elsewhere before turning on Joshua, who was himself coming off a career-threatening loss to Daniel Dubois in September of 2024. The attempt, however, ended badly.

The former champion toyed with Paul before knocking him out with a brutal combination. Beyond the setback of his second career and first stoppage loss, Paul suffered a double jaw fracture that required two separate surgeries, the second needed after the plates and screws from the first came loose.

The images from the hospital bed that showed the scale of the damage, along with his later comments, made his fighting career look uncertain.Sounding doubtful during an interview with Ariel Helwani in May, Paul said,

“I’m getting some new scans here in a couple of days of the jaw to get an update on the healing process. We’ll see what my doctors say. I think I’ll be able to get a more accurate time frame, or, you know, can I even fight again?”

“Yeah. No, most definitely (his fighting career being in doubt),” he added. “I think it just depends on how the bone heals.”

Those comments, and his forlorn appearance around that time, sparked real rumors about retirement. But projections around his return had already been shifting for months before that, from hopes of a five-to-six week recovery right after the Joshua fight, to Paul himself saying in March the realistic window was “late this year, early next year,” to ESPN reporting in April that a full 2027 return was the likelier plan. Even his own team’s language kept moving, with Bidarian telling one outlet in June that a 2026 return remained the “intention,” but only if sparring went well.

Jake Paul: From questioning his future to planning his return

Even with all that uncertainty, this is still Jake Paul, boxing’s perennial “disruptor.” One can never be fully sure until something concrete happens.

Months before the doubtful comments to Helwani, during an appearance on the Impaulsive podcast, run by his brother Logan Paul, the former Disney star had already given an affirmative answer about continuing with boxing. In February, when pressed by a reporter, Paul’s close associate and MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian sounded optimistic too.

“He’s focused on coming back in August. I think the realistic window is anywhere from August to November,” he said.

Paul’s recent moves have made clear he was never close to retiring. Speaking with Pat McAfee, he revealed, without giving a firm date, that his team was already in talks with several potential opponents.

The most telling sign came when he called out former opponent Nate Diaz for a fight. The two traded punches three years ago, with Paul winning. Talk of a rematch has lingered ever since without materializing.

The most telling sign came when he called out former opponent Nate Diaz for a fight. The two traded punches three years ago, with Paul winning. Talk of a rematch has lingered ever since without materializing.

Paul likely saw an opportunity to capitalize on that momentum. Speaking to a panel at a PFL event in New York, he said, “I’m going to continue to fight. I’m going to get into the MMA. Nate Diaz, you yourself, signed the contract. He’s been ducking for a while, actually. You know me; I’ll fight anybody. I’ll fight Joshua, I’ll fight Fury, I’ll fight whoever, whenever.”

Around that same backdrop, Bidarian also reignited the possibility of a rematch with old rival Tommy Fury, who handed Paul his first professional defeat. Beyond that, Paul stirred things up further by expressing interest in a stint with the Cleveland Browns as a slot receiver, and even floated the now-retired Terence Crawford’s name as a potential opponent.

Given how many times his timeline has shifted already, from weeks to months to entire years and back again, it’s probably wise to take this latest December target with the same grain of salt as all the others, until fight night is actually confirmed.