Jake Paul has said he will retire from boxing if he loses to MMA star Cedric Doumbe on 24 December in Dubai. The bout will be Paul's first fight since being stopped by former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua last December. Paul had to have two titanium plates fitted and some teeth removed after the Briton broke his jaw during that contest, but will return to the ring for the first time in a year.
"This is a dangerous fight," Paul said in a social media video. "Cedric has been in there with killers his whole career. He's a two-time world champion and he's not scared of anybody, including me 'The Vanilla Gorilla'." He added that the bout would have no kicks, no takedowns and no glass on the floor, and that if Doumbe wins, he will hang up the gloves.
Paul, the social media influencer turned professional fighter, said in May his boxing career was "most definitely" in doubt after the injuries he sustained against Joshua. The 29-year-old American will now return in a professionally sanctioned eight-round cruiserweight bout using 10oz gloves. Paul has won 12 of his 14 fights as a professional, with his two defeats coming against Tommy Fury and Joshua. In July 2025, he earned a place in the WBA's cruiserweight rankings after beating former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, but lost that ranking in January after defeat by Joshua.
Cameroonian-born Frenchman Doumbe is a multi-time kickboxing world champion-turned MMA fighter. The 34-year-old is signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL), an MMA promotion that Paul's Most Valuable Promotions merged with in July. He has won two of his three fights since joining the PFL in 2023, but has only one professional boxing bout to his name, which he won in 2015.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing