Jake Paul opened as the -500 betting favorite over former kickboxing champion Cedric Doumbe, according to BetOnline.ag, who clocked in at +340 for their Christmas Eve boxing showdown in Dubai. Probably because Paul is a much larger opponent (yet again), holding a four-inch advantage in both height and reach while walking around about 30-40 pounds heavier than Doumbe.
Paul has only competed as an underdog once in his career (by design), and that bout ended with “El Gallo de Dorado” spending several
days in the hospital.
“This Christmas Eve, Jake Paul returns to the ring after a year of uncertainty about his jaw and boxing career,” said Nakisa Bidarian, CEO of Most Valuable Promotions. “Well in typical ‘El Gallo’ fashion, he’s charging all the way back in and facing a multi-time world kickboxing champion. Cédric Doumbé has been calling to fight Jake Paul for several years and the timing of this matchup makes perfect sense. Both men understand how to command an audience, and both have built careers by delivering when the spotlight is brightest.”
No disrespect to Doumbe, but most combat sports fans couldn’t pick “Le Meilleur” out of a lineup — even if he was wearing a name tag.
This marks the first fight for Paul (12-2, 7 KOs) since having his jaw smashed to pieces by Anthony Joshua last year in Miami. Doumbé (1-0, 1 KO), last seen fighting under the Bellator MMA banner in May 2024, has just one appearance in the “sweet science” but racked up more than 70 fights in kickboxing and has a 6-1 record in mixed martial arts (MMA).
Promoters have yet to announce the undercard for the Dec. 24 event and as of this writing, a streaming partner has yet to be secured. What we can say for certain is that it won’t be Netflix.
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