Jake Paul vows to retire if he loses to Cedric Doumbe in Dubai on 24 December

Jake Paul said he will retire from boxing if he loses to Cedric Doumbe in a professional bout scheduled for 24 December in Dubai. The announcement comes ahead of Paul's first fight in a year.

Paul's return follows the broken jaw he suffered when stopped by Anthony Joshua last December, an injury that required two titanium plates to be fitted and some teeth to be removed; he said in May that his boxing career was "most definitely" in doubt after those injuries. The 29-year-old American will compete in a professionally sanctioned eight-round cruiserweight contest using 10oz gloves.

Paul enters the contest with a professional record of 12 wins from 14 fights, his two defeats having come against Tommy Fury and Joshua. He earned a place in the WBA's cruiserweight rankings in July 2025 after beating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr but lost that ranking in January following his loss to Joshua.

Speaking in a social media video, Paul offered a string of warnings about the threat posed by Doumbe and set his own stakes for the contest: "This is a dangerous fight," Paul said. "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: "If he wins, I will hang up the gloves and call it a day, but if he loses, the man who calls himself 'The Best' just got beat up by a YouTuber with a titanium jaw." Paul also declared: "So Cedric Doumbe, I, Jake Joseph Paul, will knock you out, embarrass you and defeat you on Christmas Eve. This fight is not going the distance and someone is getting put to sleep in the Middle East and it's not Santa."

Paul's stoppage by Joshua included two knockdowns before the contest was ended in the sixth round. The injuries sustained in that fight prompted the surgical work that Paul later disclosed and contributed to his extended absence from the ring.

Cedric Doumbe is a Cameroonian-born French fighter who transitioned from a multi-time kickboxing world championship career into MMA; the 34-year-old is signed to the Professional Fighters League. Since joining the PFL in 2023 he has won two of three fights for the promotion and has only one professional boxing bout to his name, a victory in 2015.

Doumbe's involvement with the PFL aligns with a commercial link to Paul: the article notes that Doumbe is signed to the PFL, an organisation that Paul's Most Valuable Promotions merged with in July. The confirmed next step is the scheduled meeting between Paul and Doumbe on 24 December in Dubai.