Jake Paul sets target comeback date as he makes desperate pleas to secure Canelo Alvarez fight

Jake Paul desperately wants to fight Canelo Alvarez and wants to lace up his gloves again before the end of the year.

Paul took the almighty step-up in level to face former two-time heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua in December and was brutally knocked out.

Getty

The American took a real battering at the hands of the ferocious puncher, who shattered his jaw and left him needing surgery.

It was expected Paul would take an extended period out of action as recovery, with doubts if he’d return in 2026 or even if at all.

But his business partner Nakisa Bidarian has revealed that he intends to return at the earliest in August.

He told The Sun: “I saw some videos today where he was doing a training session in the gym, but the training session was chewing gum and doing different stuff with his chin, so I think he’s doing well.

“He can start sparring in June, so if you take that, it means as early as August. And that’s what he said to me, he wants to be back in August.

“My thought is anywhere from August to year end is when you’ll see him back in the ring.”

On who he could face, Bidarian claimed that Paul is desperate to lure Mexican superstar and former undisputed champion Alvarez into a showdown this year.

He added: “He keeps messaging me about wanting to fight Canelo. I keep saying to him, ‘Let’s just meet and discuss what the right path is.’

“I think there’s lots of options out there. It just depends on the path that he wants to take.

“He called me about Canelo and Crawford in the past month and a half, and I was like, ‘Dude, like come on. Let’s just heal first.’

Impaulsive Podcast

“And he’s like, ‘You know what? Crawford might be a step too far right now, but I got Canelo’s number. I want that fight’.”

Could Canelo vs Paul be realistic?

A bout between the pair could well be a long-shot with the pair on different trajectories.

Alvarez has already announced that he will return in September, but in Saudi Arabia as part of a deal with boxing chief Turki Alalshikh.

It was Alalshikh who last time put a halt to Paul’s chances of facing Alvarez, by offering the former pound-for-pound king a huge deal.

Paul had signed his end of a lucrative fight deal to face Alvarez before his defeat to Joshua.

GETTY

But the Mexican made a U-turn at the eleventh hour, instead pursuing a clash with Crawford, which for him too ended in defeat.

Given the framework of a deal was agreed, the chances of the pair meeting are more realistic than many thought.

But after his damaging defeat to Joshua, it is unclear if Paul’s reputation will have the same carry in the commercial boxing market.

The influencer-turned-boxer is still a huge name, and remains determined to prove himself in the traditional ranks.