Darren Till calls Jake Paul a fraud after losing £5,000 Christmas Eve fight camp

Darren Till has accused Jake Paul and Most Valuable Promotions of wasting his time and money after the influencer-turned-boxer opted to face Cedric Doumbe on Christmas Eve rather than the former UFC welterweight. Paul announced on Monday that he will meet Doumbe in an eight-round cruiserweight bout at 200 pounds on December 24 at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.

Till told Ariel Helwani on The Ariel Helwani Show that he had been preparing for the fight for two weeks, spending approximately £5,000 to fly his coach out for camp, believing negotiations were on track.

“I thought we were all good to go,” Till said. “I’ve been in camp for the past two weeks with me coach. I flew him out, getting ready, seven weeks away, right around the corner. It would’ve been me third fight this year, and a big fight, as well. And out of nowhere, this f**king daft fight gets announced with Cedric Doumbe.”

Till did not hold back in his assessment of Paul’s decision to choose Doumbe, suggesting the selection was motivated by Paul’s desire to ease back into competition following a broken jaw sustained in his knockout loss to Anthony Joshua in December 2025.

“Jake probably just wants to see how his jaw’s holding up against someone who weighs about 150 pounds on a good day,” Till said. “So, it’s just a fraudulent show. Everyone’s a fraud. Jake’s a fraud. Nakisa [Bidarian, Paul’s business partner] is a little fraud, wasting my time.”

Till argued he would have represented a far stiffer challenge than Doumbe, pointing to his size and his recent commitment to boxing. “I’m 215 pounds. I’m the same as Jake. I can fing hit like fk. I’m not slow, I’m fast. I feel like I’m in me prime years,” he added.

The Liverpool native has fought twice in 2025 and had positioned the Paul matchup as a high-profile third outing for the year. With Doumbe now confirmed for the Dubai card, Till is left without a fight and out of pocket, his frustration directed squarely at Paul’s camp for what he describes as a negotiation conducted in bad faith.