Jake Paul has picked Cedric Doumbe, not Darren Till, as his opponent for a Christmas Eve boxing return in Dubai. Till says a deal with Paul’s team was close to done before Paul chose Doumbe instead, and he is calling the move a fraud.
Paul’s Christmas Eve plans in Dubai
Jake Paul announced on Monday that he will face French striker Cedric Doumbe on December 24 at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, in an eight round cruiserweight boxing match at 200 pounds (90.7 kilograms). The event is promoted by Most Valuable Promotions, the company Paul co-founded with Nakisa Bidarian, and marks his return to the ring after a knockout loss to Anthony Joshua in December 2025. Doumbe, a former kickboxing champion who later signed with the PFL for a run in MMA, responded by saying he intends to finish what Joshua started.
Till says a deal was close
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, former UFC title challenger Darren Till said he believed a fight with Paul on the same December 24 date was close to being finalized. Till said he spent two weeks in training camp and paid to fly his personal coach to England for the preparation, at a cost he put at around five thousand pounds. He said he only learned the fight would not happen when Paul publicly announced Doumbe as his opponent.
Till calls Paul and his team frauds
Till did not hold back on the show. He called the Doumbe fight pointless and accused Paul and Bidarian of steering the negotiation in their own favor after letting him believe the deal was set. “I thought we were all good to go,” Till said, adding: “They’re all frauds. Jake is a fraud.” He said he can hit extremely hard and argued it made no sense to be dropped after he had already paid for his camp.
Why Till thinks Paul avoided him
Till argued that Paul picked a safer opponent to protect a jaw that was damaged in the Joshua loss. He described himself as a comparable weight to Paul, around 215 pounds (97.5 kilograms), fast and in peak form, and noted the fight would have been his third of the year following a win over Mohammad Mutie. Till challenged Tyron Woodley for the UFC welterweight title in 2018 before leaving the promotion for bare-knuckle boxing and professional boxing, where he has spent recent years pushing publicly for a high-profile matchup against a crossover star like Paul, with no fight ever getting booked until now.
Doumbe’s path from kickboxing to the ring
Doumbe is a former Glory welterweight kickboxing champion who signed with the PFL in 2023 and won his MMA debut by knockout, giving him a combat sports resume that spans two disciplines before this move into professional boxing. He will face Paul over eight rounds at 200 pounds (90.7 kilograms) at Coca-Cola Arena, in what is Most Valuable Promotions’ first Dubai event. Paul has already issued a warning aimed at Doumbe’s French supporters ahead of the contract signing, saying he intends to end the Frenchman’s run in the ring.
Paul already favored by oddsmakers
The first odds for the fight were published on November 3. Paul opened as a heavy favorite at 1.25, with Doumbe listed at 4.30. Paul carries a 12-2 record in professional boxing, with both losses coming against Anthony Joshua and Tommy Fury. Doumbe brings far more total combat sports experience between kickboxing and MMA, but enters this bout with a much shorter professional boxing resume than Paul.
Till still chasing the fight
Till has not named a replacement opponent after this setback. He has spent years publicly campaigning for a fight with Paul, calling him out after nearly every boxing and bare-knuckle outing, without ever being booked until this negotiation fell apart. He says he remains available for a December 24 fight if anyone pulls out, and he continues to insist he is bigger, faster and harder hitting than Paul, a claim he says he is ready to prove whenever the chance comes.
Professional boxing gloves used for the Paul-Doumbe bout weigh eight ounces, compared with four ounces in competitive MMA. Our ranking of 4oz MMA fight gloves compares the best model from each brand.
