“Jake, you’re dead!” Jake, you’re dead!” A little over a month before their English boxing fight, scheduled for December 24 in Dubai, the Frenchman and Jake Paul met face to face for the first time, during a press conference organized in the capital.
As usual, Cédric Doumbè did not need to insist for long to raise the temperature. This Tuesday, at the Pavillon Cambon, in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, the former kickboxing world champion himself launched these few words from a balcony, immediately echoed by the public.
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Barely arrived and the American, YouTuber converted to professional boxing, was not disappointed with his welcome. He simply suffered a chorus of boos. But his response was not long in coming. A middle finger to the crowd, before getting carried away. “My great grandfather died in the war to save your asses so shut up!”
“I only need one shot”
On stage, pleasantries are quickly forgotten. “He is used to facing broken opponents in boxing. But miskine, he doesn’t know what awaits him,” warns Doumbè. “He said to himself that he was going to take a little Frenchman and beat him up. But no ! He doesn’t know that he took a Cameroonian from Douala who is sick.”
And the Frenchman doesn’t stop there. After comparing his opponent to a “gogo-dancer”, he assures that he does not even need to train to beat him. The difference in size? Not a problem. “Jake is not a boxer, so I have the technique going for me. And as for my power, I have already knocked out heavyweights,” says the Frenchman. “I only need one shot,” insists Doumbè, before making fun of Paul’s technical arsenal, which he reduces to three shots. “If you lose to a YouTuber who doesn’t know how to box, it’s hot.”
Opposite, the American does not give up. “He’s a big name, he’s a former kickboxing champion, he’s young and still at the top,” he admits. “If he thinks I underestimate him, he’s wrong. I’m training as hard as I can to beat him.”
However, it remains a rather painful memory for Paul, beaten by Anthony Joshua in December 2025, with a fractured jaw. But the former YouTuber prefers to laugh about it. “My jaw is fine, it’s made of titanium. I’m going to knock him out on Christmas Eve.”
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Asked about possible clauses favoring Jake Paul, the Frenchman responds with irony. “With everything we’ve been through, do you really think he’s going to pay me to lie down and get turned off in front of France in 4K?”
Doumbè has his promise. “I used to knock people out in the second round. Either I knock him out in the second round, or in the seventh or eighth.” Confidence intact despite more than two years of absence. “My whole career I had pressure because I said I was the best. But you have to prove it,” he admits, before describing his opponent as a “final boss”… who “is not good”. The American will appreciate it.
A rematch in MMA?
A few days before this conference, the YouTuber turned boxer had made a radical commitment to say the least on his YouTube channel. “If he wins, I’ll hang up my gloves and retire,” he announced a few days ago.
Also read “If he wins, I hang up my gloves and I retire”: Jake Paul will end his career if he loses against Cédric Doumbè
What if the show didn’t end at Christmas? This Tuesday, the two men discussed a possible second clash, this time in MMA. “If we’re doing this fight, it’s because you promised to do an MMA fight next,” says Paul.
“It’s the first time that my boss is going to pay me to kick his ass,” quips Doumbè, referring to the American’s role within the MVP organization. “What do you want afterwards, a wrestling match, some bare knuckle?”, continues the Frenchman, before blurting out, amused, “I think he’s high”.
