Jake Paul stakes retirement on Christmas Eve bout with Cedric Doumbe in Dubai

Jake Paul will walk away from boxing for good if he loses to Cedric Doumbe on December 24, the 29-year-old announced via social media on Tuesday. The fight is set for Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on Christmas Eve, marking Paul’s first ring appearance since Anthony Joshua knocked him out in the sixth round and left him with a broken jaw.

“All jokes aside, this is a dangerous fight,” Paul said in the 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.”

Paul was candid about the psychological toll Joshua’s knockout inflicted. “After Joshua, part of me thought about quitting, never boxing again. He broke my jaw. I have two titanium plates in my mouth. I couldn’t eat for weeks,” he said. “I was just laying in bed night after night, asking myself, ‘Do I still want to do this?’”

The stakes he has set for the Doumbe bout are unambiguous. “If he wins, I will hang up the gloves and call it a day,” Paul said. “But if he loses, the man who calls himself ‘The Best’ just got beat up by a YouTuber with a titanium jaw.”

Doumbe is no soft landing. The French fighter is a two-time Glory Kickboxing world champion and carries a 6-1 record in MMA under the PFL banner. Paul acknowledged the threat directly, noting that Doumbe has competed against elite opposition throughout his career.

Paul’s professional boxing record stands at 12-2. His two losses have come against Joshua and reality television personality turned professional boxer Tommy Fury. His wider résumé includes bouts with Mike Tyson, former WBC champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and a string of MMA crossover opponents including Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz, Tyron Woodley, Mike Perry, and Ben Askren.

Despite the criticism that has followed him throughout his boxing career, Paul remains defiant about his legitimacy. “Y’all said, ‘Fight a real boxer,’ so I fought Anthony Joshua and people still want to talk,” he said. “I will fight anyone, anytime, anyplace. And my next victim just so happens to be the biggest fighter in France.”