Jake Paul in Talks With Darren Till for Boxing Return

Former UFC welterweight Darren Till is a possible opponent for Jake Paul's boxing return. Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian confirmed that talks are happening, though nothing has been finalized. A date for Paul's next fight remains uncertain.

"Darren Till is definitely one of the names that Jake put out there on his list," Bidarian said. "He's definitely one of the names that we've been speaking to."

Paul named Till among several potential opponents after announcing earlier this month that he would box again. Bidarian also said then that Paul had been medically cleared to return to the ring.

Timing depends on the deal

When Paul fights next comes down to how quickly his team settles on an opponent and arranges distribution for the event. Bidarian laid out two scenarios.

"So, if it takes us another three, four, five weeks to figure this out, there's no fighting this year. It's probably early next year," he said. "If we figure it out in the next 24 hours, we'll hopefully get a fight in this year. But I can't tell you today if it's one or the other. But we're trying our best to get it done."

Paul has not competed since December 2025, when Anthony Joshua knocked him out in the sixth round. Paul broke his jaw in that fight. He had surgery afterward, followed by another procedure in February.

Till was released from the UFC in 2023 and has kept competing outside the promotion. The Liverpool native has stayed active in both boxing and bare-knuckle. He won three boxing matches in a row under the Misfits banner, one of them over former UFC champion Luke Rockhold. In April he signed a multi-fight deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, and in September he beat Yoel Romero by unanimous decision at BKFC 94.

Source: Sherdog