Darren Till thought he had a Christmas Eve date with Jake Paul. Then Paul went and booked Cédric Doumbé instead, and Till has been torching everyone involved ever since.
Paul announced on Monday that he’s returning to the ring for an eight-round fight with Doumbé, the MMA fighter and kickboxer, on Dec. 24 at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. The problem, according to Till, is that his team was negotiating with Paul for that exact date.
“I thought we were all good to go,” Till told Ariel Helwani, explaining that he’d flown his coach out and spent the past two weeks in camp. “It would’ve been me third fight this year, and a big fight, as well.”
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That camp wasn’t free, either. Till said, “I’ve just wasted about 5,000 pounds getting me coach out here for camp and stuff like that, but it doesn’t matter.” He then spent a good chunk of the interview making it very clear that it matters.
His theory is that Paul wanted a softer test in his first fight back. Paul hasn’t fought in a year, since Anthony Joshua knocked him out last December. Paul’s jaw was broken in multiple places in that fight and needed multiple surgeries. Till went right at the jaw. “Jake probably just wants to see how his jaw’s holding up against someone who weighs about 150 pounds on a good day,” he said, before later pegging Doumbé at 170 pounds and Paul at 220. The numbers moved around a little, but the point didn’t.
“I’m 215 pounds. I’m the same as Jake,” Till said. He called Paul a fraud, called Paul’s business partner Nakisa Bidarian a fraud, and capped it with “You’re just a little f*cking fat goblin.” He also questioned whether fans would swallow the matchup at all. “Are we all just going to buy into this fight because he’s clever at marketing?” Till asked. “It’s a farce again.”
He gave Doumbé his flowers as an MMA fighter and kickboxer, but said flatly that Doumbé can’t box. Till, meanwhile, has been chasing Paul basically since he left MMA in 2022. He’s 4-0 in boxing and went 2-0 in BKFC this year, and he floated the idea that an MMA return “could be on the cards.” BKFC president David Feldman has also teased a next move for Till.
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Doumbé, for his part, is all in. He posted “JAKE PAUL, GET READY FOR YOUR FUNERAL” on X, and Paul said he’ll “hang up the gloves” if Doumbé beats him. The two meet face-to-face for the first time at a free, public press conference on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at Pavillon Cambon in Paris, with tickets for the fight going on sale Nov. 15.
My take: Till has a real gripe about the money and the camp, because nobody likes paying for a coach’s flight to a fight that evaporates. On the bigger picture, he’s selling the sequel already. “Maybe the fight will be there next year, once he tests his jaw against Cédric,” he said, which is about as clear a callout as you’ll hear. Paul coming off a broken jaw and picking the smaller man is exactly the kind of matchmaking that earns a guy the ducking label, and Till knows it. If Paul gets through Dubai, the Till fight goes from a rumor to an obligation. Paris on Nov. 10 is where Paul gets his first chance to answer for it.
