Jake Paul fires back at Paris crowd as Doumbe calls him 'a joke' ahead of Dubai bout

Jake Paul arrived in Paris to a chorus of boos and left having traded insults with the crowd, as Tuesday’s press conference for his December 24 boxing match against Cedric Doumbe at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai turned into a confrontation before a single punch has been thrown.

Paul, fighting for the first time since Anthony Joshua broke his jaw roughly 12 months ago, wasted no time firing back at the hostile audience. Referencing recent civil unrest in the French capital, he told the crowd: “Why are y’all booing, Paris? You should boo yourself. Didn’t this place burn down? This could have been a Zoom call.”

He continued: “My great grandpa died in World War 2. Boo yourselves, we saved your btch-asses. Shut the fck up, Paris. Without me and my family, y’all wouldn’t f*cking be here.”

On several occasions throughout the event, sections of the crowd broke into chants of “Fck you,” to which Paul responded in kind. “Your mom did,” he replied at one point. “Shut the fck up, France. We’re trying to have a press conference here. I’ve seen who you root for. I’ve heard boos way louder than this.”

Doumbe, a decorated kickboxer and MMA fighter who will carry a significant size disadvantage into the fight, showed no signs of being intimidated. He dismissed Paul’s boxing credentials entirely and suggested his preparation has been focused more on making weight than on any tactical study of his opponent.

“I just watch video, I just watch this clown fight,” Doumbe said. “I have everything to beat this guy. This guy is a joke. He’s a very great YouTuber, but he’s not a fighter. He’s not even a good boxer. I’m not training to beat him. I’m training to lose weight and to step up to the scale. I’m not training to avoid any of his skills. He doesn’t have anything.”

Doumbe also noted the unusual dynamic of fighting one of his own promoters, with Paul and Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian co-promoting the December 24 card. “I want to thank Nakisa because that’s the first time I will face my boss and knock him out,” Doumbe said. “My boss pays me to knock him the f*ck out — that’s crazy.”

During the Q&A portion of the event, Paul was asked about a “Before I rest…” list he recently posted on social media, which named Canelo Alvarez, Conor McGregor, Ryan Garcia, Darren Till, and Nate Diaz as desired opponents. Doumbe’s name did not appear on the list, and Paul offered an explanation for how the matchup came together — though his full remarks were not available in the source material.

The fight represents a significant stylistic test for Paul. While he holds more professional boxing bouts than Doumbe, his French opponent has excelled across both kickboxing and MMA, and the animosity generated in Paris suggests the build-up to December 24 is only just getting started.