Rico Verhoeven Was A Former Glory Champion With One Pro Boxing Win When He Nearly Upset Usyk. Jake Paul’s Next Opponent Fits The Same Description.

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Jake Paul - Cedric Doumbe

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Credit: Most Valuable Promotions

Has Jake Paul found his Rico Verhoeven? And is that a good or bad thing?

Whenever a matchup is established or targeted, promoters have a responsibility to find the story angles and parallels that can be drawn.

With MVP’s recent merger with PFL, it makes sense for Paul to target a wll-known combat sports athlete like Cedric Doumbé. He is someone MVP can easily negotiate with because there’s already a connection or a working relationship.

Paul is also coming back after suffering a broken jaw in his 2025 loss against Anthony Joshua.

With Doumbé having already fought for PFL, being a little up there in age, and being open to crossover combat sports events, he makes sense as an opponent.

The Verhoeven connection is part of the promotional story. Verhoeven’s success against Oleksandr Usyk, and connecting Doumbé to him because of their similar backgrounds, is a way of essentially telling the public: Look at what happened when Verhoeven fought Usyk. No one gave him a chance.

Now we have a similar fighter with a similar background facing a prominent fighter in Paul, and there’s reason to believe Doumbé could do what Verhoeven did, or better.

That’s the story, and it doesn’t have to be a trick or a ruse. It could actually have some merit.

Paul is a lot less experienced and skilled than Usyk. So if Verhoeven could hold his own against Usyk, perhaps Doumbé could do even better against Paul.

Jake Paul vs. Cédric Doumbé Key Facts

DetailInfoFightJake Paul vs. Cédric DoumbéDateThursday, Dec. 24, 2026VenueCoca-Cola Arena, Dubai, UAEPromoterMost Valuable PromotionsWeight classCruiserweight (200 pounds), 10-ounce glovesScheduled rounds8AgesPaul 29, Doumbé 34Paul’s boxing record12-2, 7 KOsDoumbé’s boxing record1-0Doumbé’s kickboxing record75-7-1, 45 KOs; two-time Glory world championDoumbé’s MMA record6-1, 6 KOsPaul’s last fightKO loss to Anthony Joshua, Round 6, Dec. 19, 2025

The bout is an eight-round cruiserweight fight at 200 pounds with 10-ounce gloves, and it lands at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. It is sanctioned as a professional boxing match.

Paul said Doumbé started calling him out two years ago, after a nine-second knockout. In MMA, Doumbé’s PFL debut in Paris in 2023 ended in six seconds.

Against someone like Paul, you could argue that Doumbé’s kickboxing skills will put him in a good position to be competitive.

A more experienced boxer might be able to expose the cracks that come from the differences between the two disciplines. Paul may find it more difficult to take advantage of Doumbé’s lack of traditional boxing experience.

It wouldn’t be shocking to hear Doumbé say that over his time in kickboxing, he’s already put in more boxing rounds in training than Paul has. And that statement may actually be true.

That said, at this point, Paul has accumulated enough boxing experience that he’s no longer a complete novice.

He has 14 professional fights under his belt, compared to just one for Doumbé. That’s a meaningful difference, regardless of how many boxing rounds the former Glory champion has completed in training.

Kickboxers move a bit differently than traditional boxers, and that movement style is something that could cause a traditional boxer problems.

Jake Paul’s Professional Boxing Record

OpponentYearBackgroundResultAli Eson Gib2020YouTuberWon, TKO 1Nate Robinson2020Former NBA playerWon, KO 2Ben Askren2021MMAWon, TKO 1Tyron Woodley2021MMAWon, split decisionTyron Woodley2021MMAWon, KO 6Anderson Silva2022MMAWon, unanimous decisionTommy Fury2023BoxingLost, split decisionNate Diaz2023MMAWon, unanimous decisionAndre August2023BoxingWon, KO 1Ryan Bourland2024BoxingWon, TKO 1Mike Perry2024MMA, bare knuckleWon, TKO 6Mike Tyson2024BoxingWon, unanimous decisionJulio César Chávez Jr.2025BoxingWon, unanimous decisionAnthony Joshua2025BoxingLost, KO 6

So this is an interesting stylistic matchup beyond the crossover novelty appeal. With Paul’s name attached to it, as well as Doumbé, who is a huge star in France, this one could be a sneaky hit later in December.

Ultimately, this is mostly smart branding.

Verhoeven entered the Usyk fight 1-0 as a pro boxer, his lone win a second-round knockout in 2014. Usyk stopped him with one second left in the 11th round in Giza, Egypt, in May, and the finish drew heavy criticism. Paul was among those who questioned the stoppage.

More Usyk vs. Verhoeven Coverage

Paul has proven to have a solid chin. We’ll see if the injured jaw he suffered in the knockout loss to Joshua has changed that.

Doumbé isn’t naturally as big as Paul. He’s longer and leaner, but he does have legitimate power.

So the fight is not without risk, but it’s certainly a calculated risk. And it’s a test Paul seems confident he’ll pass.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

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