(Photo credit: Most Valuable Promotions)

The press tour for Jake Paul's return to the boxing ring began Tuesday in Paris.

Ahead of his eight-round, cruiserweight bout on Christmas Eve against French kickboxing champion Cedric Doumbe at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, Paul paid his opponent a compliment before making a bold claim about how the fight will go.

'We're ready for this guy. Kickboxing world champion, Glory champion, one of the best in MMA. This guy's great. He is great. Very bien. But he's getting knocked the f*** out on Christmas Eve,' Paul said at the press conference. 'Kickboxing will not help him, people. On December 24th, the legs will just be used for transportation. This is boxing. He's gonna learn a very, very hard lesson. And at the end of the day, he's still a tune-up fight for me.'

It'll be the first fight for Paul (12-2, 7 KOs) since he required multiple surgeries to repair his jaw after it was broken in two places by Anthony Joshua, a former two-time unified heavyweight champion, in their scheduled eight-round heavyweight fight, which ended in the sixth round, on Dec. 19, 2025, in Miami.

Doumbe boasts a kickboxing record of 75-7-1 with 45 knockouts. He is 6-1 in mixed martial arts, including a nine-second KO of Jordan Zebo in a September 2023 welterweight bout.

Doumbe's only professional boxing appearance came in April 2015 with a win against Frenchman Mohamed Fodil.

Like Paul, however, Doumbe does not lack confidence entering the bout.

'I would love, once in my life, to fight an easy fight. That's why I called him out, because I would like to face a guy who is not strong, beat him easily, and take my money. So he accepted the fight. Thank you, Jake,' Doumbe said. 'I do nothing (to prepare for the fight). I just watch videos on Netflix. I just want this fight, this clown fight. I don't really do nothing. I have everything to beat this guy. This guy is a joke. He's a very great YouTuber, but he's not a fighter.'

Paul did admit he enjoys the pre-fight process more when his opponent is more willing to engage in trash talk.

'I'm used to carrying the promotion on my back. Please talk your s***, Cedric. Sell the pay-per-views,' Paul said. 'Here in Paris, his hometown, home country. I mean, actions speak louder than words. They'll see December 24th, just like their city burned down. I'm gonna burn this guy to the ground.'

Since making his professional debut in 2020, Paul has become one of boxing's biggest draws. His victory over Mike Tyson by unanimous decision in November 2024 drew 125 million viewers globally, according to Most Valuable Promotions, which is putting on the Paul-Doumbe fight.

Paul predicted a third- or fourth-round knockout victory in December's match, while Doumbe said he could envision a quick second-round knockout as well as a seventh- or eighth-round knockout after messing with Paul and showing him 'what real boxing is.'

Paul is so confident he'll win that he confirmed he '100%' plans to retire if he was to lose to Doumbe.

The pair will hold an additional press conference Thursday in Dubai.

--Field Level Media