After 293 brutal days sidelined by a jaw broken in two places, Jake Paul is officially cleared to step back into the boxing ring. That’s about nine and a half months of recovery and two separate surgeries, all thanks to Anthony Joshua. What’s wild is that even with all that, Paul’s business partner, Nakisa Bidarian, just dropped the news that he’s good to go.
The “Before I Rest” List and Questionable Decisions
Here’s the kicker: the broken jaw, which required those two intense surgeries, doesn’t seem to have knocked any sense into Paul’s head. The source straight-up says his cognition and rational thinking *still appear to be impaired*. Seriously? Because what Paul, now 29, posted on X sure looks like it. He put out a list titled “Before I rest…” which is basically a wish list of opponents, and get this, Joshua isn’t on it (smart move there), but a whole bunch of other jaw-breakers are.
A Gauntlet of Potential Jaw-Breakers
We’re talking about former heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder, even almost six years after he held a world title. Then there’s former UFC heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall, who’s got blurry vision but can still throw down, and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, the dude who knocked down Tyson Fury and boasts a 19-3 MMA record with 14 KOs. This isn’t just boxing either. Paul’s still eyeing MMA fights against Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz. The thing is, he’d need a major weight advantage to even survive in the cage against those guys. And what about Ryan Garcia? A fight with Garcia, who’s at 147 pounds now, sounds like Paul vs. Gervonta “Tank” Davis, just without all the legal drama. Plus, UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland is on the list, and you know that promotion would be absolutely wild, probably as nasty as the fight itself.
Canelo Alvarez and the World Title Dream
Even Canelo Alvarez, an absolute legend, is on Paul’s list. Yeah, Canelo can definitely throw a jaw-breaking punch. But the idea of luring him into a fight? Canelo’s talking about his final fight, and it’s just ludicrous to think he’d cap a Hall of Fame career with a YouTuber-turned-boxer. On top of that, Paul’s list also includes names like Darren Till, KSI, Chris Eubank, and Edgar Berlanga. And right at the very bottom of the entire list, almost an afterthought: “World Title.” It’s clear from his own words, “Before I rest,” that Paul isn’t planning on taking it easy. Given that list, there definitely won’t be any resting for quite some time, if ever.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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