Jake Paul has already announced that he will return to the ring on August 13, 2022. Paul has proven to be one of the biggest draws in boxing, silencing the critics that denounced him as little more than a sideshow. Whoever he faces in mid-August will team up with Paul to create one of the biggest PPV events of the year in boxing, so there is no shortage of possible opponents now that we know he can bring in the numbers. Mike Tyson, Conor McGregor, and Anderson Silva are among his most likely opponents, but the most likely opponent is probably Tommy Fury.
Tommy Fury
We were originally supposed to see Jake Paul face Tommy Fury on December 18 of last year. Unfortunately, Fury had to back out of that fight 12 days before it was set to take place due to a broken rib and a bacterial infection in his chest. Fury is 8-0 as a professional boxer, and he beat Daniel Bocianski by points on the undercard of older brother Tyson Fury’s championship fight against Dillian Whyte in late April. This would be a tough test for Jake Paul as the younger Fury has a four-inch reach advantage and gets to spar with the greatest heavyweight in the world.
Mike Tyson
Iron Mike was the greatest boxer in the world for a decade from the late 1980s to the late 1990s. Mike Tyson is one of the most revered fighters of the modern era, and he has shown that he is willing to get back in the ring if the price is right. Tyson took on five-division champion Roy Jones Jr. in November 2020, and he still has a little something left in the tank despite being 55. He can’t move like he could in his prime, but he still has formidable knockout power.
Conor McGregor
The Notorious is an expert showman, but his name has lost some of its luster as he has not been as dominant in the Octagon as he was a few years ago. Conor McGregor was manhandled by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, and he was knockout twice in 2021 by Dustin Poirier. Still, McGregor is an intriguing opponent because he knows how to sell a fight with his antics. He has already engaged in a war of the words with Jake Paul, and McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. teamed up for the most lucrative PPV event in boxing history.
Anderson Silva
One of the greatest MMA fighters of all-time was very impressive against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. last summer in Mexico. Silva was supposed to be a name used to simply draw in more of a crowd in the Tribute to the Kings PPV event, but he was able to knock off Chavez and prove that he was still a fighter to be reckoned with at the age of 46. He had no trouble against Tito Ortiz last September, knocking him out in the first round, and Silva is the type of opponent that Paul may prefer as he has a ton of name recognition and recent success but isn’t a threat to really hurt him.