Former YouTuber Jake Paul’s return to the ring has been scheduled for December 24 of this year at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The American, coming off a knockout defeat to Anthony Joshua in which he suffered a fractured jaw, will face former kickboxer Cédric Doumbé in a professional boxing match scheduled for eight three-minute rounds at the cruiserweight limit.
Paul has already started provoking his opponent by twisting his surname (from Doumbé to “Douchebag,” an English insult roughly equivalent to “asshole”) and directing some less-than-kind words at him:
“Cédric Douchebag was calling me out two years ago after knocking some dude out in nine seconds. Well, Douchebag, now you get your chance. I’m rusty, my jaw is janky, and I don’t have kickboxing world titles like you do. But guess what, this isn’t kickboxing mon ami. This is boxing. Just like Usyk feasted on Rico Verhoeven, I am going to eat you for dinner in Dubai on Christmas Eve and have a Coca-Cola at the arena to celebrate. You like to talk a lot, so let’s see what you have to say in person at the press conferences next week in Paris and Dubai. To the proud people of France, excuse-moi for what I am about to do, but your son has been naughty and he’s going to get punished.”
Doumbé wasted no time in firing back:
“Jake Paul calls himself the Problem Child, but he’s never faced a problem like me. He has no idea what a Frenchman is capable of, and on Thursday, December 24 in Dubai, I’m going to eat ‘El Poulet’ for dinner. Jake loves to talk, and so do I, but after what Joshua did to his jaw, I’m not sure how much talking he has left. I’m going to finish the job Joshua started. Dubai is a special city to me, and on Christmas Eve, I’ll be waving le Tricolore over his unconscious body. France, this one’s for you.”
A two-time Glory world champion, Cédric Doumbé boasts a kickboxing record of 75 wins, seven losses and one draw, with 45 victories inside the distance. After transitioning to MMA in 2021, he recorded six KO or TKO victories in seven fights, suffering just one defeat. His only professional boxing match, a four-round points victory, dates all the way back to 2015.
It is worth emphasizing, however, that the Frenchman’s kickboxing and MMA careers took place at a significantly lower weight than the one agreed upon for his fight against Jake Paul. Doumbé won his Glory world titles at the 77 kg limit, 13 kg below the weight agreed upon for the December 24 showdown.