Jake Paul promises to 'hang up the gloves' if he loses to Doumbe

• Brett OkamotoNov 3, 2026, 08:42 PM ET

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  Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.

Ahead of his return to the ring on Christmas Eve, Jake Paul is promising to "hang up the gloves" if he loses to former kickboxing champion Cedric Doumbe.

Paul (12-2, 7 KOs) is scheduled to face Doumbe in a sanctioned, 10-round cruiserweight bout on Dec. 24 in Dubai. It will mark the 29-year-old's first appearance since he suffered a broken jaw in a knockout loss to Anthony Joshua last December. According to Paul, it will also mark his last appearance in boxing if he fails to get the win.

"If he wins, I will hang up the gloves and call it a day," Paul said in a video published to his YouTube channel. "But if he loses, the man who calls himself 'The Best' just got beat up by a YouTuber with a titanium jaw. So, Cedric Doumbe -- I, Jake Joseph Paul, will knock you out, embarass 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."

Doumbe, of France, is a former world kickboxing champion, with a professional MMA record of 6-1. He has only boxed professionally once, recording a win in 2015. The 34-year-old has not competed in any combat sport since May 2014.

Paul admitted he contemplated retirement over the last year, following the jaw injury that required multiple surgeries in December and February.

"Honestly, after Joshua, part of me thought about quitting, never boxing again," Paul said. "He broke my jaw. I have two titanium plates in my mouth. I couldn't eat for weeks. I couldn't even talk or smile at my bank statements. I was just laying in bed night after night, asking myself, 'Do I still want to do this?' Yeah, obviously I still want to do this. I ain't no b----."