Cedric Doumbe has dismissed Jake Paul as an inferior boxer and threatened to knock him out when the pair meet in an eight-round cruiserweight bout in Dubai on December 24.
The former kickboxing world champion described the upcoming contest as a “clown fight”, insisting that he has little reason to worry about the American social media personality ahead of their Christmas Eve showdown.
Doumbe, who is signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL), also joked about the unusual situation of being paid by an organisation linked to his opponent to fight and potentially defeat his “boss”.
Speaking at a press conference in Paris, the Cameroonian-born French fighter thanked Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) co-founder Nakisa Bidarian for helping arrange the contest.
“I want to thank Nakisa. He’s the boss. And Jake, he’s the boss, too. I want to thank Nakisa, because that’s the first time I will face my boss and knock him out,” he said.
“My boss will pay me to knock him out. That’s crazy. We never see that before.”
MVP merged with the PFL in July, creating an unusual connection between the two fighters ahead of their scheduled encounter.
Doumbe, 34, further played down Paul’s boxing credentials, claiming he was not taking the preparation seriously because he considered his opponent beatable.
“I do nothing. I just watch videos on Netflix. I just want this fight, this clown fight. I have everything to beat this guy,” he said.
He added that his immediate focus was losing weight before intensifying preparations for the contest.
Paul, 29, however, has rejected suggestions that Doumbe would have an easy night, arguing that the difference between boxing and mixed martial arts could work in his favour.
The American has won 12 of his 14 professional boxing bouts, with his two defeats coming against Tommy Fury and former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
The Dubai contest will be his first fight since Joshua stopped him last December, leaving him with a broken jaw that required two titanium plates and the removal of some teeth.
Paul has also raised the stakes, declaring that he would retire from boxing if Doumbe defeats him.
“I’m 100% retiring if I lose to this guy. For sure,” he said.
He maintained that Doumbe had never faced an opponent of his calibre in professional boxing and insisted that the Frenchman would struggle to adapt to the sport.
Doumbe has won two of his three fights since joining the PFL in 2023. Although he has only one professional boxing bout to his name, which he won in 2015, he remains confident of causing an upset against Paul.
