Nothing is signed. Four names are on the board, Christmas Eve is pencilled in, and the loudest voice in the mix is the one that has not yet seen a contract.

Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions, told The Sun this week that Darren Till is on Jake Paul’s wish list.

“Till is definitely one of the names that Jake put out there on his list,” Bidarian said.

He also pitched the date he wants: December 24.

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“It’s a date where everyone is at home. It’s a great window. It’s a captive audience with not much else going on.”

The schedule, Bidarian added, hinges on how quickly a deal can be closed and a broadcast partner lined up.

Till is already yelling for a pen

Till, the former UFC welterweight title challenger who now competes in boxing and bare-knuckle, did not wait for an invitation. On October 22 he posted on X: “Stop fucking about & grow a set of balls & send the contract & ill smash your boys head in.”

Paul’s own message days earlier was in the same register. “So much yipping and yapping and lots of capping. Let’s see who actually signs the contract,” he wrote, after Bidarian confirmed that MVP was “actively negotiating with 4 potential opponents” for a return in late 2026 or early 2027.

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The other three names on that shortlist have not been identified publicly.

First fight since the Joshua KO

Paul has not boxed since December 19, 2025, when Anthony Joshua stopped him in the sixth round at Miami’s Kaseya Center. Paul was dropped four times and left the arena with a double jaw fracture that required titanium plates and the removal of teeth. The bout, streamed worldwide on Netflix, was his first knockout defeat and dropped his professional boxing record to 12-2.

Till is a very different proposition. The Liverpudlian fought Tyron Woodley for the UFC welterweight title in 2018 and has since moved between professional boxing and bare-knuckle. His most recent outing was a bloodied unanimous-decision win over Yoel Romero at BKFC 94 in Manchester on September 26.

Negotiations before a venue

Bidarian has not publicly ranked the four candidates, and he has made clear the Christmas Eve slot is contingent. He told The Sun the date, time and venue all depend on how quickly an opponent can be signed and the broadcast distribution lined up around that choice.

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For now the only hard date in the file is Till’s: October 22, the day he told Paul’s team to put a contract in front of him.

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